The Difference Between Shadows and Darkness
by Phate Phoenix
Summary: YGOHP It's been weeks since the Fourth Year, where Harry Potter bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to stop his return. Death Eaters and Master continue to plan in secret, one of which will not only alter the Order's lives, but several others…
1. Exordium, Desino

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance _(Shonen-ai and Het)_

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Thanks for stopping and check this out. A few weeks ago I started to read HPYGO fanfics, and fell in love with them. Thus, this came into being. My first attempt at a crossover. Please, tell me if I got something wrong- I've done research on these guys (a lot of research, in fact) and I hope to have everything square and set for both universes. Heck, I looked up the time changes for the areas! XD

This will mostly focus on the Yu-Gi-Oh cast, and within that mostly on Ryou. There will be _shonen-ai_ pairings, as well as _het_ pairings, so just warning you all. Will there be cross-verse pairings? Dunno yet. Maybe. I'm not so into getting the characters together as I am telling the story, so don't expect large amounts of fluff and hugging and kissing, and more action and plot-stuff. And drama. Oh Gods, the drama. Sorry in advance for that. Let me put it like this: this story isn't going to shit rainbows and butterflies.

Oh, and yami-hikari speech is always / Like this. /

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this. Insert something witty and original here. Erm… blah.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE:  
****EXORDIUM, DESINO**

* * *

"Lucius…"

The voice hissed through the darkness of the room, and a pair of crimson eyes twitched over to the side, where a man in long black robes and a strange, pale mask stood. The masked man straightened, stepping forward, his pale grey eyes staring at the one who spoke.

"Yes, my Lord?"

The red-eyed man allowed his left arm to fall to his side, stroking a large green snake at his side. The snake responded by flattening her neck into a hood, which the pale, skeletal hand stroked upon the invitation. "Did you gather the information?"

"Of course, my Lord," the blonde-haired man replied, nodding slightly. The Dark Lord looked pleased, smiling to himself.

"Good. And the Minister…?"

Lucius chuckled softly behind the mask. "Believes all that I tell him."

"Wonderful. Then you may go- have your fun. Do be careful not to get anyone killed during your little strike, Lucius. That Weasely boy won't die without a fight. And when he does, those Order members will be there soon after."

The masked man bowed and started to turn away when the red-eyed man leaned forward, a sinister grin on his pale, snake-like face. "Oh, and Lucius?"

The cloaked man paused, turning swiftly to face Voldemort once more. "My Lord?"

The grin didn't fade. "Please bring me back a trinket of sorts. Egypt is such an interesting place…"

* * *

"Ah, July twenty-fifth! Two weeks since we arrived back at home! Well, home for _me_, but since your dad's here, I suppose it must feel like home to you, too. Hey, are you even listening to me?!"

The sun was low on the horizon, making the shadows long across the desert sands. Tents stood still on the landscape, and two teenage boys wandered through them. There was a silence between them before one of them- adorned in multiple golden trinkets- pushed the second, more downtrodden boy slightly. When this did not rouse the albino boy from his silent musings, the tanned one flicked the teen's ear and whined in Egyptian.

"Lighten up, Ryou! I swear, you're gloomier than most of the tombs we go into!"

The white-haired teen merely smiled at his blonde friend, but the dark look to his doe-brown eyes didn't vanish. He rubbed his ear ruefully.

"I'm sorry, Marik," the teen began, also in Egyptian, "but I've got this feeling that something horrible is going to happen…"

"Ryou, you always think something horrible is going to happen." The lavender-eyed boy pointed out, tapping the boy's forehead with end of a map in his hand. Ryou flinched at the contact, but Marik didn't appear to notice, as he continued with what he'd been saying.

"We've got that one guy from England here- what's his name, erm… Bob, I think- and he's been able to get past most of the curses that would have crushed and/or poisoned us."

Ryou looked unconvinced. The red-haired man who'd come was impressive, true, but when he had appeared, so had the horrible darkness the clutched his soul, and painted his soul room a harrowing black and red…

"I know, but-"

"But nothing! C'mon- your father will be opening the next room soon. I don't want to miss what they find, so we're going _now_." This was all Marik said before grabbing Ryou's left arm and pulled him firmly through the 'street' of tents and supplies. Unconsciously, Ryou's right hand darted into his pocket, clutching the only Millennium Item he had left- the Eye.

As Ryou held the cold, hard metal in his hand, he felt a familiar sadness ooze through him. It annoyed him, it bothered him, and it frightened him that he could feel sadness for giving that Ra-Damned Ring to Yugi only a few weeks ago. His yami had done nothing but use him, hurt his friends, and harm strangers ever since Ryou had touched that Ring.

…And yet…

"Ryou, snap out of it! We're at the entrance and I don't want to drag you through here."

Ryou blinked a few times, and the doorway to the underground chambers met his unclouded eyes. He smiled sheepishly at Marik, murmuring an apology as they slipped inside the darkened corridor. There was very little light, save for the few torches that glowed, lighting their path. They stepped into a larger chamber, and were surprised to find that the whole team had gather there, talking amongst themselves and laughing quietly, as if the stone statues that guarded there would leap to life at any loud noise. Ryou's eyes swept through the crowd before he realized something.

"Father!" Ryou called in English (much to Marik's annoyance), and the blue-haired man with dark green eyes poked his head above the crowd, sunglasses hooked on the corner of his shirt. He smiled at the white-haired boy before turning to one of the men and finishing what he'd began to say.

"Hello, Ryou," the man said finally, also in English (and earning an irritated snort from the blonde Egyptian behind Ryou), weeding his way through the group of people to stop in front of his son. Ryou smiled up at the man before looking around quietly.

"Where's B…B…Bob?"

"_Bill_ Weasely, Ryou. And he had to get back to London- family emergency or something like that," Ryou's father said with a shake of his head and a small frown. However, his forest green eyes snapped over to Ryou's face, a smile on his lips moments later. "However, no worries! He left us with a replacement. Reggie Baggs, also from London."

The crowd moved around again, and someone new came forward. A tall man with grey-brown hair and grey eyes looked down at Ryou and Marik, smiling softly. "Hello, Ryou. Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure, sir," Ryou responded shyly. He turned around, gripping Marik's arm and pulling him forward, "This is Marik Ishtar. He's a friend from near by."

Upon hearing his name, Marik realized he was being introduced, and nodded to the man stiffly, lavender eyes watching him. Reggie and Ryou's father returned to the crowd (Ryou now realized they were meeting and greeting their newest arrival), while Marik and Ryou moved off to a corner, furthest from the group and doorway.

"Who was _that_?" Marik hissed in Egyptian, raising an eyebrow and glaring at the newcomer from the corner of his eye. Ryou rolled his brown eyes before responding likewise in Egyptian.

"That was Reggie Baggs. He's replacing Bill- not Bob- Weasely. Something happened to his family, so he had to leave immediately," Ryou said.

Marik was silent for a moment, turning his lavender gaze upon the tall man in the crowd. Then: "Huh. Sucks for him."

Ryou sniffed at Marik's callousness before eyeing the ground beside him. "Indeed," was all the pale boy uttered before turning back to him.

It took several minutes of chattering between the adults before they had to halt their small gathering, for the native workers had arrived and were awaiting orders. The researchers broke apart and started toward their respective 'stations':

The energetic Thomas was rushing back to the outside to man the radio- the only means of communication between the camp and the outside world.

Grissom was solemnly reading several tablets that were piled in front of him in the middle of the floor, occasionally turning look at the walls behind him.

Mathews and Badger were standing guard at the entrance, although the likelihood that any would attack them was slim to none (Marik's sect had already said that this tomb was free for the group to wander, so there was no worry of that happening).

The short Amborne, the muscular Smith, and the lanky Collins were in a separate section- a small chamber connected to the first large chamber- that had already been opened by Mister Bakura and Mister Weasely a week or so ago.

The new-guy Baggs, Ryou's father, and the bumbling Franks were currently at the next doorway, trying to decipher how to make it work. Baggs would prod the stones around it gently, while mister Bakura would read the walls. Franks studied the doorway itself.

The rest of those that were in the tomb- about ten or so- were workers from the surrounding towns. The researchers did most of the real work, while the workers did the grunt work- moving cases, blocks, rocks, the sort. Ryou and Marik were observers, but Marik couldn't help himself but reread some of what the others had translated, and clicked his tongue in distaste at their mistakes from time to time. (He made no effort to help, however- it was an ego booster for him.)

Ryou and Marik had finally sat down, and were playing a simple game using a regular deck of cards (there was too much sand to use their duel decks- they didn't want to damage their cards, after all). Ryou lifted up the top card and looked at it. A five of hearts. He looked over at Marik, smirking.

"A seven."

"Lower."

Ryou gaped at his smug friend, throwing the card at his face. "By Ra! How do you keep doing that?!"

Marik smirked at him, chuckling. "I have my secrets." He placed Ryou's card in a small, face-up pile next to the deck and drew a card himself. He blinked at it before looking up, lavender eyes bright.

"A queen," he said smugly, grinning at the teen before him.

Ryou paused, eyes narrowing at the card before him. While his first inclination was to go with 'higher'- why else go with such a high card? However, as a small voice in the back of his mind assured him that this was _Marik_, and that was exactly what he wanted Ryou to think, he fought momentarily with himself, before turning to Marik.

"Lower," Ryou said with a smirk. Marik's smug grin fell, flipping the card around so that the seven of spades was clearly visible.

"Bah- lucky guess," he murmured, turning away in a huff. Ryou chuckled at his antics, and turned back to the deck.

* * *

"Is this necessary, Yami? I mean, it's _two in the morning_! Why would you want to duel Kaiba this early in the morning?!"

Yugi Mouto, resident of Domino, Japan, was affixing his duel deck to his belt, grumbling angrily as his incorporeal yami leaned against a nearby wall, smirking. "Because, Yugi, there aren't any people up this early in the morning, so we will have no issues making it there and back." Yami's face turned slightly red as he turned away, grumbling, "Unlike last time."

Yugi both winced and chuckled at the memory of their last attempt at dueling Seto Kaiba. It had been last week- only two weeks after Battle City had ended. The fanboys and fangirls were out in full storm, and when word had gotten around- via, Kaiba suspected (as did Yami, but he was less noisy about it), Joey's big mouth- that the top two duelists were going to go head-to-head again, they flocked to the meeting place- Kaiba's house. When Kaiba found out that Mokuba couldn't get back into the house because of the group, he called the whole thing off and had Yami practically thrown from the house. Yami barely managed to get away from the crowd with all limbs attached, although he was missing all of his buckles save for the one around his neck and several strands of hair.

"Yeah- that had been an interesting day," Yugi snickered, but rubbed his head, as if he could still feel the pain. Yami turned back around, face still slightly tinged pink.

"_That_ is why we are going this early in the morning," Yami said with a glare, before fading back into the puzzle in a huff.

Yugi smiled down at the gold up-side-down pyramid, and with a sigh threw a leather jacket over his black outfit. He paused for a moment, violet eyes blinking as he looked over himself, feeling as though he was forgetting something. His eyes fell upon the Millennium Puzzle, and he jolted, running to his bed and ducking underneath it. After several moments, he lugged a small black backpack to his side, unzipping the top and peering into it. There, softly reflecting the moonlight off their gold surfaces, were three of the Millennium Items- the Necklace, the Rod, and the Ring. They were each in their own plastic baggies, but the Ring was also tied to the keychain clip, as if to ensure it wouldn't disappear. Not that Yugi was worried about that so much- Yami had assured him that the Thief was safely in the Shadow Realm, and wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

Bag slipped over his shoulders, Yugi stormed down the stairs as fast he could, heading into the kitchen to grab a piece of leftover pizza from the night before. There was no need to silently sneak around the house- Grandpa had left earlier the day before for England, and would be there for two days. The flight itself took eleven hours to complete; Grandpa was still in the air. Yugi had somehow convinced the man to let him remain in Domino, although he was sure it was more to do with his friends coming into the Game Shop at all hours, moping- loudly- about how two days without Yugi would be torture.

The streets of Domino were quiet at this time of day, and it made Yugi feel calm as he made his way towards the residence of Seto Kaiba. He could feel Yami's excitement through their link, and smiled quietly to himself, happy for his other half. The darker side of his soul had been bored ever since the danger and Shadows had passed. It was out of sheer desperation that Yami had almost pled with Kaiba to make room in his schedule to duel with him. Almost- Kaiba had actually come to him with the arrangement before it had come to that. Yugi was sure Mokuba had something to do with it, but the King of Games was only glad that Kaiba had agreed to do it.

/ Yugi, return to the world of the living… you're about to walk past it, / an amused voice called from the back of his mind. The crazy-haired teen jolted out of his musings.

/ Huh… what?! /

Yugi halted in his steps, blinking rapidly at the sight in front of him. The tall gates of the Kaiba property were visible only a few feet in front of him, and beyond that a winding walkway towards the towering Kaiba mansion. He smiled weakly, turning his eyes to the side, where his yami had taken his spirit form.

"Thanks for that," he murmured aloud. Yami nodded eagerly, eyes glued to the giant building ahead of him. Yugi laughed out loud, gently nudging him with a shoulder, not that it would affect the spirit anyway. "You want to take over now? It feels like you've had twelve cups of coffee…"

Yami smiled at his other half, scratching the back of his spiky-haired head. "Sorry about that, Yugi. I've been looking forward to this all week…"

Yugi chuckled at his darker half's antics, but held the puzzle lightly in his hands. With a warm smile, the shorter boy straightened, and the puzzles let off a soft flash of light, as if it had caught a stray light from the lamppost or the moon. When the flash died away, Yami had taken Yugi's place, taller and with more blonde in the tri-colored hair. Once purple eyes were now a slightly redder hue- almost maroon in color. The most noticeable difference, however, was the change in height- Yami towered at least a foot over the spirit form of his hikari, who merely smiled up at him.

"Alright, Yami. I hope you're ready. Kaiba won't be holding back. Like always."

"Good," the spirit replied, starting towards the gate, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Seto Kaiba stood in the middle of his living room and absentmindedly shuffled his deck of cards, turning his dark blue eyes to the side. It wasn't unusual for the teenage CEO to be up so early- it was, however, unusual for Mokuba to approve of such an hour. Also unusual was the fact that the eleven-year-old was _also_ up at that hour, and peering out the window.

"Well… I think I see Yugi… but he's just standing there," the younger brother finally said, turning his grey-blue eyes to the elder Kaiba brother. Kaiba paused in his shuffling for a moment, turning to look at his brother. After a moment, he turned away and resumed shuffling.

"He's probably just trying to prepare for his inevitable defeat. Either that or he's 'talking' to his other personality," Kaiba reasoned, a smirk played upon his face. Mokuba hid the roll of his eyes behind his dark bangs and continued to stare out the window. He blinked a few times before snickering to himself.

"Well, the 'other' Yugi is the one coming to the door. Heh, he looks excited Seto. And… yup: they made it through the gate o-kay."

Kaiba grumbled under his breath, knowing full well that his younger brother believed the 'Pharaoh' nonsense that Yugi's group of friends spewed any time they were together. The brunette turned around and walked out of the room, and into the main hallway, Mokuba following dutifully behind him. He stared at the front door, icy stare in place. Mokuba sighed quietly and placed himself next to the front door, looking somewhat annoyed at his brother's antics.

"You could try being civil, Seto," Mokuba pouted to him, sending his brother a watery-eyed look, but was interrupted by a firm knock on the door. The expression was cleared from his face while Kaiba grunted, leaning against a nearby wall. The shorter boy opened the door and smiled warmly at Yami, who was returning the smile.

"Hey Ya- er… Yugi!" Mokuba caught himself, glancing at Kaiba from the corner of his eye to catch his older brother twitch slightly. He hid a smirk by coughing slightly and ducking out of Yami's way.

"Come in! We've got popcorn and pizza and soda, so we won't go hungry, and the Game room is all set up for the duel!" Mokuba proclaimed excitedly, rushing from the hall and back towards the kitchens. Yami closed the door behind him, and turned to face Kaiba.

"Hello, Kaiba."

"Hello, Yugi."

Yami noticed the stress that Kaiba placed on his name, as if Kaiba was trying his hardest to ignore the truth before him. Yami merely gave him a small smirk and walked down the hallway after Mokuba. He didn't need to look behind him to know Kaiba was following.

"So, where did Mokuba say the sodas were?"

* * *

Edgar Thomas was leaning back against a post of wood sticking up from the ground, radio sitting next to him, buzzing softly with static. The radio station was further away from the rest of the camp; for some reason the radio had a hard time picking up a signal from anywhere near the dig site, especially while the team was working. Not that Edgar minded the distance- he loved the stillness of the desert and the quiet, away from all the tapping of tools against stone.

Edgar's hat was tilted backwards, almost cushioning his head on the hard wood. His black hair covered his eyes, and he snorted softly- asleep. However, the sound of footsteps approaching, crunching in the sand roused him from his light nap, and he blinked open a brown eye, peering through his hair at the approaching group of men.

"Erm… can I help you?" he called cautiously, eyeing the strangers who wore long, black cloaks that completely covered them. The one in the lead paused, and the others behind him do so as well. Edgar blinked at their silence and scrambled to his feet, not bothering to brush the sand from his robes. "This is a dig site- you can't just waltz in here without authorization."

The leader seemed to chuckle begin the dark hood. "I've enough 'authorization,' Muggle," he spoke with a British accent, and Edgar's mind snapped over to Ryou and his father. He gritted his teeth, trying to look fierce. However, the hairs on the back of his neck and arms prickled at the sight of this man.

"I'm giving you one last warning-" Edgar found himself cut off as the lead man whipped out a glossy black stick from his robes.

"And I'm giving you none. _Avada Kedavra_!"

A startled cry was the only noise Edgar made before the green lightning struck his body, and he crumpled to the ground, eyes blankly staring at the radio next to him. The radio next to him had gone dead.

And the robed men marched on toward the sea of tents in front of them.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES: **Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Expect them all to be around this length, some bigger, some smaller. I hope to update about once a week, every two weeks at the most. Oh, and don't ask what pairings I'm going to use- that's for you guys to find out later. XD

**QUESTIONS FROM THE AUTHOR:** Alright, time for me to get off my high-horse and ask you guys your opinions. Malik or Marik? Which is correct? I've seen Malik used everywhere, but Marik seems to have more official standing, but I'm not sure. For now, I'm using Marik, but I'll change it if enough people think it's wrong. Also, how is 'Ryou' pronounced? I've heard it's either 'Ree-You' or 'Ree-Oh.' Which is correct? Thanks in advance!


	2. Trucido, Celo

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hey! Thanks so much for the long reviews, everyone! And thanks for answering my questions! :D For now, I'll stick with Marik.

_And on pairings:_ My rule of thumb is this- if they're straight in canon, then they'll probably end up straight in my stories. Maybe I'll be evil and make them bisexual (cackles madly while lightning flashes in the background), but for now use this as a guide as for what to expect from me.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this. Also, I blame coffee and my sadistic ways for most of this chapter. Bwa-ha-ha?

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO:  
****TRUCIDO, CELO**

* * *

Ryou stared down Marik, his own brown eyes burrowing into the other teen's lavender ones. He exhaled sharply, the corner of his eyes twitched in concentration and indecision. Marik smirked, but his own eyes were concentrating just as hard as Ryou was, narrow and staring.

The world seemed to stand still for them before…

"Higher!" Ryou cried, thrusting a pale, accusing finger at the tanned boy. The Egyptian's left eye twitched as he stared at the card in his hand.

"NOT A-RA-DAMNED-GAIN!" The teen bellowed, throwing the ten of spades into the air and clutching his blonde hair. He frowned unhappily, pouting at his friend who was smiling innocently at him, eyes closed and head leaned gently to the side. Marik reached over and flicked his nose, eliciting a sharp yelp from the white-haired boy. Ryou rubbed his nose, glaring half-heartedly back at the lavender-eyed teen.

"My turn," he merely snapped back, and snatched a card from the deck while Marik, chuckling, placed his card into the face-up card pile. Ryou turned his doe-brown eyes on the card in his hand, and his vision narrowed in confusion. There was a duel monsters card stuck face-down on the playing card. Ryou, under the confused watch of Marik, peeled the card away from the six of hearts. He flipped it over in his hand.

Ryou's voice hitched in his throat, brown eyes widened as they fell upon the card in his grasp. He'd only seen it once before- when he'd been able to sneak around his yami's defenses to look at the world. He'd never forget it- how angry and… _sad_ his yami had felt as he'd held the monstrosity in his hands- the merged form of man and snake.

Diabound Kernel.

Ryou wasn't aware that his hands had been shaking, or that a cold sweat had started to form along his brow until Marik grabbed a wrist and he instinctively flinched, turning his brown eyes upon the Egyptian. Marik was saying something to him, but Ryou was having a hard time hearing him. A deep feeling of loneliness filled Ryou, as well as a strange yearning, a _desperation_ that made the albino boy nauseous. Marik gripped his shoulders and shook him slightly, jarring the freshly-scarred wound on his right arm. This extracted a sharp hiss from Ryou, and he jerked backwards, clutching the wound with his left hand, the right still holding the card.

"What was _that_ about?!" Marik snapped, voice barely above a whisper. Ryou shook his head, gasping slightly before holding the card out to Marik. Marik took it gingerly, eyeing it with confusion.

"I haven't any idea why…" Ryou began softly, wiping away the sweat from his brow, "but, this _card_… it reminds me of… _him_."

Marik dropped the card as though it were made of acid and had been eating away at his flesh. Ryou instinctively snatched the card from the dirt, frowning at it quietly. "Strange, isn't it? That it would remind me…" Ryou trailed off, eyes softening as he held the card in his hand, the other instinctively reaching up to grab for the golden trinket that wasn't there. Marik shook his head, and began to shuffle the deck of normal playing cards together.

"Not really. Every time I see a Nightmare Wheel card I get chills…"

Ryou smiled appreciatively at the other teen before slipping the card into his pocket with a sigh. Maybe he'd one day understand these feelings, but for now, he'd have to live with the gnawing confusion. He turned back to Marik, eyeing the deck that was placed before him with a forlorn stare.

"Alright, I'll try another card…"

He stared at the Queen of Diamonds darkly before looking up at the blonde Egyptian.

"An eight."

"… Higher."

"Dammit!"

* * *

No matter what they told him, Bill Weasley hated this. The redhead currently was glaring at the fireplace before him, elbow leaning against the arm cushion of the red, gold, and green plaid couch. His chin was resting in the palm of that hand, while his other tapped his fingertips idly against his knee. His own blue eyes were narrow and dark, his mouth twisted into a frown.

He'd been called away from his work in Egypt under the guise that his mother had fallen ill. However, it was merely that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's forces were gathering up for something big- he was needed here for the counterstrike when that occurred. That didn't stop Bill from feeling antsy about the situation. It felt like something was going horribly wrong- like he shouldn't _be there._

_CRACK!_

Bill leapt from his seat, wand whipped out and pointed towards whoever had Apparated into the same room at him. However, his wand immediately lowered at the annoyed and pale face of Severus Snape. The greasy-haired male glared back at Bill with dark, narrow eyes.

"Where is Headmaster Dumbledore?" the man said immediately.

Bill opened his mouth to talk when the grey-bearded wizard strode through the door from the kitchen, the grey-haired Mad-Eye Moody and the graying brunette, Remus Lupin, following behind. Dumbledore's long, blue robes dragged only slightly on the ground as he hurried into the room, his usually soft blue eyes hard and nervous.

"What is it, Severus? You're back several hours earlier than expected…" the elderly man asked, his voice holding none of the apprehension his eyes betrayed.

"The Death Eaters have already made their move, Albus," Snape spoke evenly, and all the faces in the room paled. "Egypt. To attack Mister Bill Weasley. Lucius Malfoy planned the event, but is currently at the Ministry, pouring lies about the state of the extremist Egyptian Wizards in Barty Crouch's ears. I suspect it'll be the dig site the Weasley boy was working at."

Bill's eyes widened, mouth dropping open in horror. Dumbledore was ordering Remus to contact the rest of the Order, and to place Mrs. Figg on high-alert over Harry Potter. Sirius Black rushed into the room, pale and drawn face tense.

"What's going on, Albus? Something's wrong with Harry?!"

"No, Sirius," the old man said in a softer tone, "only a precaution. Help Remus send word to Arthur and Nymphadora."

The tall man paused before turning and following his friend as he rushed from the room. Bill moved forward. "I have to go with the team, Headmaster."

"Bill, you were the original target. If they get sight of you…" Dumbledore began, but was cut off as Bill spoke once more.

"I'm the only one who can speak Egyptian, and we don't have the time to cast a Language Charm on everyone."

Dumbledore exhaled, a dark cloud hanging over his vision. "Fine," he said quietly, but a twinkle returned to his eyes a second later, "but do tell your mother and father that I put up a better fight than that, would you?"

* * *

"Lower."

"… You got it again, Ryou."

Both boys sighed, staring at the deck of cards for several seconds. Ryou rubbed the nose for a moment.

"Do you know any other card games?" came the eventual statement. Marik shrugged, blinking down at the red-backed cards.

"Well, there's always 'Go Fish-'"

Marik was broken off suddenly by the sound of yelling from above them, and the other researchers came to a pause in their work. Someone was running down the winding pathway to their chamber, and Ryou pressed himself against a nearby wall. Marik followed suit and kicked the deck of card in doing so, sending them flying off over the sandy ground. Ryou instantly clutched the Millennium Eye in his pocket, breathing softening to almost pure silence. Suddenly, the balding Donald Badger rushed down the doorway, fear obvious in his wide grey eyes.

"We've got to get out of here!" he exclaimed as the other men rushed to their feet. Reggie Baggs stepped forward, a hand at his back pocket.

"Why, Don? What's going on?!" the new-guy demanded, grey eyes flashing dangerously.

Donald opened his mouth to reply, but a feminine screech sounded behind him, the exact phrase was lost to Ryou, for a bolt of green lightning struck Donald in the back, and he was thrown across the room, body striking a wall and falling to the floor. Lifeless eyes stared over the group, seemingly pointing at Ryou and Marik's location. Ryou clamped his hands over his mouth to stifle his cry.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one. Several of the workers gave strangled cries, leaping to their feet and rushing around, knocking each other over in an attempt to take cover. Five figures rushed into the room, two of the forms leading, in long, full-body black robes. Faces covered by the black material, they pointed sticks- the feminine figure held a grey one, the masculine one wielded a black stick- in different directions. The shrouded men behind them followed in suit.

Marik pulled Ryou closer to the wall, better hiding them in the shadows so that the intruders would overlook them. Ryou's eyes were wide, horror clearly depicted in their brown surfaces. Marik kept his breathing steady, but desperately avoided looking over at the corpse, whose eyes stared so accusingly at them…

The feminine figure spoke first, mirth and joy bubbling from her mouth, as though she were a child at an amusement park. "Well, look at all the Muggles! So much to do! _So much to do_!"

Her partner stood still as death, and just as quiet. His face turned to watch as a worker tried to rush past him, but his pointed his wand in the man's direction, and the worker was instantly struck by a shot of red lightning, and the man slumped to the ground. One of the other cloaked men stepped forward, grabbing the limp man's shirt and dragging him towards the exit. He dropped him in a heap, and pulled a dagger from his cloak. Marik and Ryou averted their eyes, Marik clutching onto Ryou's arm unconsciously as they both stared at the two people in the middle of the room.

'_Oh Gods…'_ Ryou instantly thought, clutching his Millennium Eye tighter, _'they're going to find us, and kill us… oh Gods…!'_

As if reacting to his panic and fear, the shadows of the room flickered to life, catching both Ryou's and Marik's trained eyes as they danced on the walls. Ryou stared at his feet for a moment before exhaling softly, concentrating on the shadows before him. The shadows at his feet quivered before slinking up his legs, sliding over his body. When they reached Marik's hand, they swiftly slid over to him, coating his body as well in a cold, silky darkness. Lavender eyes found the world far darker than it used to be, and he clutched Ryou's arm tighter.

"Ryou!" Marik whispered into the albino's ear, "What's going on?!"

"Stay still and keep quiet," Ryou retorted, face, if possible, paler, "and don't let go of me."

In front of them, Reggie Baggs had moved forward, and was pointing a stick back towards the others. His grey eyes were narrow and harsh, although fear flickered deep within. His voice, however, was calm.

"What… do you want?"

The cloaked male turned and stared at the cloaked female, who nodded slightly. She giggled out to Baggs, "Oh, we are here representing the Egyptian Wizards of the West, who have come to… stop this… uh…"

"Archeological dig," Ryou's father supplied helpfully where he was crouched by the unopened door, although his face was pale and eyes hidden by his sunglasses. The giggling witch nodded to him.

"Thank you so much, Mister…?" "Bakura." "Oh, of course! Thank you Mister Bakura! Yes, archeological dig. We don't want you disturbing our great Pharaohs of the past, such as this one."

Ryou's eyes narrowed and turned to whisper what the woman said to Marik. The Egyptian's nose flared and his eyes darkened dangerously. "This isn't a Pharaoh's tomb," Marik began with a snarl on his lips, "it's a nobleman's tomb. No way that these people are who they say they are."

The woman was obviously not aware, for she then turned and pointed her 'wand' at Grisson, who was hiding behind his stack of stone tablets. Ryou could almost see the cruel smile on her face as she giggled again.

"And because you have disturbed our great Pharaoh's rest," she said with a soft, child-like voice, "there must be retribution! Your souls will make wonderful gifts to our Gods for such a disturbance. Now," she turned to her group of men surrounding her, "die."

The incantations were sent every which way, and green lightning flew from sticks and slammed into bodies. Grissom was the first to be struck, and he crumpled over his stone tablets. Amborne, Smith, and Collins had rushed into the room at the first sign of trouble, and were the next to fall. Workers screamed and rushed past the cloaked men, only to come flying back down, a barrage of red and green lightning bolts streaming from the exit.

Baggs leapt forward, his own wand firing red and purple and blue streaks at his attackers, managing to get himself in front of Ryou's father, the person nearest to him. He managed to take out two of the four that were attacking him, forcing them to fall to the ground, unconscious or dead- Ryou wasn't sure. Mister Bakura, however, was horrified, eyes twitching from the men in dark robes to the newest member of his team.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

Ryou gagged when a body fell down in front of Marik and himself, turning a pale green. Marik's eyes were shut tightly, and he clenched tighter to Ryou's left arm, while the white-haired boy's brown eyes stared down at the corpse of Jeffery Franks. Franks had worked with his father for years, they were practically inseparable. _Jeffery was recently married_, Ryou's mind numbly told him, _and you watched him die without even trying to help_.

Ryou didn't even bother to argue, but turned his head around, looking for his father amongst those that still stood within the tomb.

* * *

"…And Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacks your Black Magician Girl!"

The towering form of a white dragon with wide blue eyes spread its wings, letting out a scream of rage before turning upon the form of a young blonde woman who was holding out a blue staff, her green eyes narrow with fright. The white dragon opened its mouth, and let out a ball of brilliant white lightning. The figure of the woman screamed as she was engulfed, and was silenced as she vanished. The dragon let out a bellow of pleasure and settled next to its twin, awaiting their third.

"And I end my turn. What're your life points at now, Yugi?" Kaiba called mockingly from the other side of the room. Attached to his arm was the wing-like Duel Disc System from his Battle City tournament.

Across from him stood Yami, wincing slightly as his life points dropped to two-thousand. A trickle of sweat dripped from his brow and he glanced at his empty field. He just couldn't concentrate on the game, instead his mind focused on something else… like an annoying ache was pulsing somewhere from the back of his mind. He shook his head and gave Kaiba his best sneer.

"Oh, I've always got something planned, Kaiba!"

He was about to draw when suddenly a metallic _clank_ reached everyone's ears. Mokuba, who had been standing as close as possible to his brother's side of the field, spun around and blinked as Yugi's small black backpack dropped from the table it had been set on. Three sets of eyes (Yugi was peering through Yami's) watched the backpack for a moment, when it _lunged_ forward, hopping slightly across the floor.

"What the hell?!" Kaiba called from across the room. Mokuba jumped backwards, and Yami rushed forward.

"That damn Ring!" he snarled leaping forward to catch the slinking backpack, but merely managed to scuff his nose when he missed. In a small flicker of light, Yugi appeared in spirit form next to him, hopping from one foot to the other.

/ Get it, Yami! /

/ I'm _trying_, Yugi! /

Yami crawled to his feet as he chased the bag down, cursing Kaiba under his breath for making the room so large that the bag could manage to avoid his every attempt. Mokuba eventually sprinted to his side, and after cornering the backpack, Yami grabbed it. Yugi peered worriedly at the black sack, and Kaiba, left eye twitching in annoyance, approached from behind.

"Yugi, what are you doing?! This won't get you out of the duel…"

Yami glared over his shoulder at the CEO. Kaiba rolled his eyes, and Yugi stood next to his Yami, watching the bag. Kaiba frowned at Yami struggled to open the bag. "What's in your backpack that's making it jump all over the place? Did you bring and animal in here?!"

Yugi flinched at Kaiba's tone while Yami managed to open the sill twitching sack. Kaiba peered into it, and his eyes widened in shock. The Items within were all still and looked absolutely innocent… save for the Millennium Ring. The barbs had managed to poke several holes in its plastic bag, but it hadn't yet been able to cut itself loose of the fishing line that kept it tied tightly to the bag's interior. It jerked again, flailing like a golden fish on dry land. Mokuba stared at it for several seconds.

"That's pretty Ra-Damned weird."

"Mokuba- language."

"But you-"

"Are older than _you_. Mutou, what are you doing to Bakura's necklace?"

Yami shook his head, keeping his fingers away from the sharp tips of the Ring as they flailed about agitatedly. "I'm not doing anything, Kaiba," the teen responded, staring at the Item. "But knowing the Ring, it's definitely not good."

Kaiba stared at Yami's form for several seconds.

"… Alright, Frodo. Do you want to go to Mordor and drop it into Mount Doom?"

"Shut up, Kaiba."

* * *

Marik and Ryou sat numbly in their small corner, eyes dully looking on as the group of men and women started to walk out of the tomb, high-fiving each other at the carnage. Finally three of the cloaked figures remained- the leader of the entire operation, and the two who lead the group inside the tombs. Of the men within, only Ryou's father and Baggs were standing: Mister Bakura was tied with rope that had appeared from the tip of the new man's wand. Baggs, however, was stiff and leaning against the wall of the tomb, his wand snapped in half and lying across the chamber. Finally, the three spoke.

"All right, Mister Bakura," the female figure giggled, "you'll find that we Egyptians are quite forgiving, if only to those who do us justice. You earned my favor by helping me earlier. However, it has now run out and you will die if you don't tell us what we want to know."

Mister Bakura's sunglasses had been removed and discarded, landing against the opposite wall as Ryou and Marik. The blue-haired male smiled at the woman softly, his green eyes oddly blank on his tired face.

"What is it?" he answered softly. The trio looked at one another when the leader- a lanky being that moved slowly, with precision- stepped forward. He stood before the green-eyed man, and exhaled.

"Do you know," an elderly male voice with a British accent came forth, "where a Mister Bill Weasley is?"

Ryou jolted at that, and the shadows that hid them wavered for a moment until he forced himself to focus. Marik looked over at him, and mouthed, _"What?"_

"They're looking for Bill Weasley," Ryou spoke back, face slightly green. Why would they be looking for Bill Weasley? Why all this violence… death… over one man? Why?

Mister Bakura started, and dropped his gaze to the ground. "He… left. Earlier this morning. Something wrong with his family."

The lanky fellow growled in annoyance and nodded to their muted companion. He stepped forward, and pointed his wand at Reggie Baggs. Ryou's father gasped, eyes wide.

"Pl-please!" he cried, "I'm telling the truth!"

"I doubt that, Mister Bakura," the man drawled again, and nodded. A blast of white energy struck Baggs, and he went limp immediately. However, he was given no chance to move, for a second later the giggling woman stepped forward.

"_Crucio!_" she giggled, and Reggie Baggs let loose a scream that made Marik's pupils shrink. Ryou gripped Marik's shoulder with his left hand, for Marik had pulled his away, clamping them over his own ears to try and block out the screams of agony that made memories of his past fly back to him.

Ryou closed his eyes, and focused on the darkness behind them, focused on the shadows that hid Marik and himself. He avoided thoughts that made him think of his father, bound before those people, and focused.

A voice broke through the screaming.

"Stop, Vulnus. Maybe the Muggle will tell us now."

Ryou opened his eyes, and Marik slowly pulled his hands from his ears, face pale and eyes half-lidded. The woman stepped back, keeping her wand on Baggs as his spasms died down to mere sobs of agony. Mister Bakura turned his face away from the form beside him, shaking. "I… I can't tell you what I don't know. _He's gone._"

"Pity. _Avada Kedavra!_"

Baggs jerked once more on the group, mouth open to scream, but no noise came. Instead, he went limp, and Mister Bakura sobbed beside him, face pale, drawn, frightened.

"Crutenus? Place the body with the others. We'll give Mister Bakura one last chance," the elderly voice uttered, gesturing with his wand to where they had piled the bodies in a corner. Baggs's lifeless form was hardly an obstacle for the silent wizard, and he threw him on top.

Ryou, however, couldn't bring himself to divert his brown eyes from his father's shrunken form. His breathing quickened, and he knew what would happen. He could feel it. _See it_ in the air around the people. He clutched the Millennium Eye again, panic rising in his stomach and threatened to make him scream. He clutched Marik tighter, looking over at the blonde teen, to find the lavender eyes already back on him. The shadows quivered around them, and it was all Ryou could do to keep it from falling.

"Mister Bakura, please look at me," the man spoke again. The blue-haired man complied slowly. The cloaked figure bent lower, gazing at him. "Where. Is. Bill. Weasley?"

"I'm sorry!" the green-eyed male choked out, "He isn't here anymore!"

The man strode away from him, disgust written in the way he walked, a snarl evident on his breath. He nodded to Vulnus, the lady, and she giggled gleefully.

"Sorry Mister Bakura!" she cooed, "But you know orders! You've got to follow them." She leaned back, pointing her wand at him, "_Avada Keda_-"

"No!"

Ryou hadn't realized he brought himself to a stand, or that he'd shouted until the eyes of the room found their way to him. The shadows hastily retreated from their sights, and erected a shield of shadow in front of Ryou's father. The man stared in surprise at the shield of darkness. The green lightning that raced from the wand collided with it, and withheld it.

_CRIK-CRACK!_

For a moment, before the womanly figure leaned into the spell, and shattered the small shield. The green lightning consumed the man with blue hair and green eyes, and sent him into a nearby wall. He lay limp, he did not blink. He did not breathe. He did not live.

Ryou felt his horror fade away, leaving him with a pleasantly numb feeling trickling over his body. Someone grabbed his shoulder- Crutenus, the silent one- and pulled him over to where the others had gathered. He landed heavily on his side. Marik was soon to follow. He brought himself to a sit, and blinked up with a dull stare at the veiled face of the woman who'd killed his father.

"That was some spell, kiddo," she giggled to him, ruffling his hair with a gloved hand. Ryou blinked his brown eyes, aware that Marik was twitching next to him. The woman continued, "Wandless magic, I presume?"

Ryou opened his mouth and choked out with a croak, "You could say that."

The other two men were starting toward the exit, and the elderly man called over his shoulder, "Just finish them, Deridea. Afonik and I will get the rest of us to the Portkey."

With that, the two left. Marik was staring between Ryou and the shrouded woman before them. Ryou felt a twinge of pity within his numbness for Marik. He was about to die and had no idea that it was coming. He let out a soft chuckle at that, and this made Vulnus pause in her attack.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked, her childish voice holding a curious note. Ryou shook his head, a tried expression crossing his face.

"No reason. Go ahead. Blast me."

She shrugged and was about to comply when suddenly a black shrouded man fell down the tunnel, gasping. "Vulnus! The Order! It's come!"

"What?! Shit!" the woman cried, spinning around to glare at the entrance as the other man stumbled to her feet before standing. Vulnus spun around, ready to shout the incantation, and saw that the two boys had fled from their sitting spots. She growled under her breath, stomping her foot in a pout.

"We can't leave until they're all _dead_!" she whined to the other, who nodded quickly to her and rushed after her when she tore around the tomb.

Ryou and Marik paused in front of the door Ryou's father had been trying to open, and Ryou felt his emotional blockade start to slip, and he muffled a sob expertly. Marik ran his fingers over the inscriptions, mumbling in ancient Egyptian. He pressed a forefinger onto the pupil of the Eye of Horus, causing the door to shiver and open.

"C'mon, Ryou!" the Egyptian shouted, for their attackers would have heard the loud rattling from the old stone door. "Get inside!" Ryou stumbled after him, and the sounds of the robed duo seemed quieter in the darkness of the tomb.

Ryou latched onto Marik's wrist and tugged the boy after him, down the constricting corridor, which ended in a small room. Too dark to get a good look around, Ryou pulled Marik to a corner to the left of the entrance, setting the taller boy in front of him and hugging him to his chest. Ryou peered over his shoulder, and then clamped his eyes shut, pulling the shadows over them again.

"We have to move fast," Ryou breathed into the tanned boy's ear, "don't stop running. No matter what."

Marik numbly nodded, lavender eyes wide with fear and determination. The two cloaked individuals rushed into the room, their wands glowing at one end. They stalked forward, and then turned right. Ryou softly shoved Marik's shoulder, and the teen moved softly forward, drawing from his experience as a Rare Hunter. Ryou, however, was a thief before he was even born- sneaking came about almost naturally to him. Of course, this was anything but a comfort, and he pushed this from his mind.

"There they are Vulnus! Gah! _Avada-_"

Marik broke through the door they'd recently opened, and yanked Ryou to the side, sending them rolling, barely dodging the bolt of green lightning. Marik stumbled to his feet and spun around, eyes widening at the sight before him.

Ryou panted, feeling his arm wrapped around something soft. He shook as he raised himself up, staring down at a pair of lifeless green eyes, partially blocked by blue hair. He gave a startled cry when he realized he was lying next to his father's body. Marik tugged on his shirt and helped pull him to his feet. Ryou stifled a sob as he backed up, and they darted towards the exit.

"Not so fast!" a voice giggled to their left. Ryou stopped short when the cloaked woman suddenly appeared next to Marik with a _pop_! The blonde boy jerked backwards, but was snatched up into Vulnus's arms, her wand pointing at his head. The other man ran over to her side, a wand pointed at Ryou who stood a few feet from the trio.

"Sorry, kiddo," Vulnus trilled, and Marik struggled more. She jabbed the wand to his throat, making him choke momentarily. Fast-falling footsteps reached their ears, and she gasped, turning sideways to check to see who was coming from the outside. Ryou's eyes twitched from the cloaked man to the entrance, and felt a flutter of hope rise in his chest, combating the steadily-climbing depression.

Bill Weasley was rushing down, wand pointed at the woman with Marik. She giggled at him, but made no move to do anything when she saw four others come rushing down behind him. She tossed her head with a giggle, and pressed the wand harder against Marik's throat. His lavender eyes were narrow and clouded over, head twitching slightly and fingers clawing slightly at his captor's arms.

"Weasley!" she squealed happily, "And friends!"

"Let the boy go," the redhead said dangerously, blue eyes hard and cold, like sapphires behind glass. Vulnus giggled again, shaking her head.

"No, silly! He's my pet now," she squeaked, and stroked Marik's blonde hair quickly before putting the wand to his throat again. Marik snarled at the touch, thrashing violently, eyes wide and pupils small. Ryou's face paled.

"Don't lose control, Marik!" Ryou called to his friend in Japanese, and took a few steps forward. He suddenly found two wands pointed in his direction from both cloaked wizards. Marik blinked before snapping out of it, closing his eyes and turning his face away, panting slightly.

"Quiet, kiddo," the witch pouted to him, and turned back to Bill and the group behind him. "Maybe I should leave you with a doll, however…"

Ryou's eyes widened, feeling a sick feeling in his gut.

"_Don't you like your dolls, Yadounishi? I got them just for you."_

"_You did this for yourself!"_

"_Even so, at least I'm giving you rent."_

The world came crashing back around him instantly when the witch's laughter rang cruelly through the tomb. During the time when he had zoned out, three of the wizards had gotten into a fight with the man in a cloak, and he held them at bay while Vulnus still held both Marik and himself hostage. Bill and the other man, a withered-looking fellow with graying brunette hair and harsh blue eyes, were holding their wands at the giggling mistress, and she merely laughed cheerfully at them.

"A doll it is!" she trilled and turned to face Ryou. Ryou felt his hand dive into his pocket of its own accord, and clutching the Millennium Eye fearfully. Then she squealed:

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

There were cries from around him, but his own eyes were focused on the approaching streak of green lightning. The shadows immediately crept up to defend him, and stalled the blast for a moment longer. The shadow shield cracked, splintered, but held. Long enough for a _thought_ to cross his mind.

'_The Eye! Use the Eye!'_

Was it… his own thought? Or was it from… _him_…?

With no time to question it, Ryou did the only thing that came to his mind- he pulled the Millennium Eye from his pocket, and held it in front of him.

The shadow shield shattered, and the blast came through, just as powerful as it had to Baggs, Grissom, the workers… _his father_…

And struck the Eye of Horus.

The Millennium Item began to glow brilliantly, and for a moment Ryou felt hopeful once more. Then an aftershock of energy slammed into his chest, and he felt the spell seep from the Eye into his hand, and pain filled his mind. He was aware that he'd gone flying, but then there was only blackness.

Only the shadows of his mind…

* * *

**AFTER NOTES: **Honestly, I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long. Really. I couldn't find a place to end it that I liked. I'm fond of cliffhangers, but this chapter wouldn't have accomplished anything without this ending, I think.

**Additional Disclaimer**: I also don't own the _Lord of the Rings_ series. I couldn't help myself with the joke. Forgive me? :D


	3. Acerbus, Deficio

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Thanks everyone for the reviews. Reviews make me warm and tingly, because I like to know that people like what I do. :D

_Also_: I might be changing the title soon. It was more of a 'Gosh, I need a title!' title than one that held any meaning. Throw me any ideas if you have 'em!

_Also_: Marik's '_yami_' is merely a separate portion of his mind, not an actual spirit of the Millennium Rod. That's why, in the future, when Marik's 'yami' talks to him, it'll be as such:

_'Marik's thoughts.'  
"Marik's 'yami's' words to Marik."_

Here's to _not_ being confused!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this. I'm probably insane, so I guess I can blame most of the chapter on that. Oh, and enjoy Kaiba's slight meltdown!

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE:  
****ACERBUS, DEFICIO**

* * *

Marik went completely numb as his lavender eyes watched Ryou go flying across the room with the Millennium Eye still clutched tightly in his right hand. He landed a few from the group, hitting a nearby pillar and sliding down it to a sitting position. His head bobbed to teh side, and his wide, blank doe-eyes stared back at Marik. Marik felt Vulnus turn the wand back on him, but his eyes never left Ryou's fallen form- he couldn't understand what they were saying anyway.

It was sudden- a feeling of overwhelming sorrow and rage, devoid of any positive or hopeful emotion. Marik felt _him_ stirring in the back of his head, like a snake slithering around his ankles. He flinched automatically, blinking hastily to clear his mind of the negative thoughts his _other self_ fed upon. Marik, understandably, struggled with this task when his friend's body lay not ten feet from him, staring at him, and his own life was in jeopardy.

Bill was shouting something angrily, which caused the woman to jab Marik's throat again, and he hacked and gagged, eyes rolling backward. However, he turned his eyes back to Ryou immediately, and blinked.

Twice.

And Ryou blinked back, hacking and coughing, clutching his right wrist with a wince.

"Ryou?!" Marik rasped, jerking forward slightly and his arms tightening on Vulnus's arm. The heads in the room snapped around to stare at the white-haired teen as he gasped for air and moaned, and Marik felt the woman loosen her grip in surprise, and she screamed at someone. Marik couldn't help but smirk.

'_Big mistake.'_

Marik slammed his elbow back, feeling something crack behind him and the woman screamed, this time in pain. She fell backwards and Marik bolted forward, rushing to Ryou's side while the others tended to the cloaked duo.

Marik watched as the cloaked man, seeing he was out-numbered, cast some spell that sent out a green shockwave, knocking the trio fighting him off their feet and forcing the other two to stumble. He then seemed to disappear and reappear at the woman's side, and, with her giggling, they disappeared together with a small _pop_! Marik swung around, glancing over Ryou's pale form.

"Ryou! Hey, are you alright?!"

Ryou only blinked at him, confusion and pain vivid in his eyes. Marik gave him a shaky grin, placing a hand on the albino's shoulder.

"Heh, thought you could just run to your room, huh?" Marik joked, but sadness overshadowed his gaze. Ryou blinked, and groped at his neckline for the missing sensation of the Ring. Finding it gone, he jolted, as if his memories were returning in one horrific moment.

"Was it… real?" he murmured in Egyptian, brown eyes tired and half-lidded. Marik squeezed his eyes shut, turning away as he nodded. Ryou gave a withering breath and closed his eyes, tears leaking out the corners. Mark turned back to see the boy pass out, and he clenched his fists angrily. His eyes stared down at the Millennium Eye, and the green scars racing from Ryou's palm up past his wrist and spindled out like veins till just beneath his elbow. Blood dribbled weakly down from the green lines like they were lacerations. The men around him rose and steadied themselves, and the only familiar face rushed forward. Marik automatically stiffened.

"Marik?! What… what's going on?!"

Marik jumped to his feet and spun around, eyes narrow and wild. Marik recognized that voice- Bill Weasley. He'd heard that name again and again and again during the attack, during the killings. The man watched him quietly, sadness in his eyes as he met Marik's.

"Please, Marik…" the man asked, stepping forward. Marik snarled, taking a step backward and spreading his arms, forming a barrier with his body between the man and Ryou.

"What do you want, Weasley?"

The tone and voice reminded Bill of the Malfoys and a flicker of anger rose up in his gaze, which Marik bristled at visibly, eyes narrowing and head dropping slightly. Bill calmed himself, and looked hopelessly around him before sighing and trying again.

"Marik, we're not here to hurt you. We… we came to help."

"A little late, huh?" Marik snapped, but the pain in his eyes was greater than his anger, and Bill knew that Marik wasn't angry at him- exhaustion, fear, and sadness shone through so clearly that Bill winced. But Marik withdrew, turning away and back to Ryou's side. He fell to his knees and grabbed Ryou's right hand, which was still gripping the golden Eye tightly. Bill watched as the gold sizzled and flashed when Marik touched it, causing the boy wince and recoil. Undeterred, the boy snarled and wrenched Ryou's hand open, plucking the Eye from his grasp and flicking it to his side when it continued to burn his fingers.

The Eye glowed for a moment before it shot out a bright green liquid away from the group that had gathered. The liquid fizzed on the sand before it evaporated into nothing. Marik looked at the golden orb before picking it up, wiping it on his pant leg and bringing himself to a stand. His eyes were tired and dull when he faced the group- more specifically, _Bill-_ once more.

"This," he began, "is the Millennium Eye, and, as I'm sure those Rare Hunter wanna-be's have figured out, this is what saved Ryou from that bolt of lightning."

Marik felt a bitter anger within, mostly towards himself, though some of it was directed at the Pharaoh, even though Marik knew it wasn't his fault. _'If I only had the Rod,'_ he glared down at the Millennium Eye, clutching it tightly, _'this wouldn't have happened.'_

"_Then kill the Pharaoh and take back your Rod, the God Cards, and the Puzzle!"_

Marik instantly gasped and clutched his head, growling as his _other self_ tried to push himself free, prodding the barriers Marik had put up to protect himself. After a few moments of struggling, Marik straightened, rubbing above his left eye with his free hand. He blinked over at Bill, and was surprised to see that Bill was holding him up by his shoulders. Marik blinked a few more times.

"Sorry about that. Stress gives me migraines," he lied easily to the English wizard. Bill frowned at him, and opened his mouth to speak when something Marik's other _self had_ said clicked frighteningly in the blonde's head. Marik jerked backward, staring at the Eye in his hand, and then back to Bill.

Bill's eyes widened, seeing the sudden panic swirl into the lavender eyes of the young Egyptian. Bill stepped forward once more, blue eyes stern, scared. "Marik, what?"

"Will… will whoever sent those guys after you-" Bill flinched at the statement, but Marik took no notice- "go after the Eye if they really figure out what it did?!"

Bill nodded, eyes urging Marik to tell all. Marik quickly obliged.

"There are six other Items like this," Marik said, and Bill's eyes widened. Marik continued, "Two of them are in the hands of a wanderer named 'Shadi.' He won't have a problem hiding. The other four are in the hands of a kid my age."

Bill paled visibly, and Marik nodded, glad that Bill got how bad this was. "His name is Yugi Mutou. He lives with his grandfather in Domino, Japan at the Kame Game Shop."

Marik's face paled slightly, and the exhausted look in his eyes increased, and Bill reached out to steady the boy. Marik pushed his hands away, frowning.

"Don't worry about me. Get Ryou out of here. I need to warn my family about what has happened," the Ishtar boy snapped and tried to take a step, but his knees buckled on him, and Bill was forced to catch him. A slight blush crept over Marik's cheeks as he growled in frustration at his own weakness, and he looked away.

"Let me help," Bill uttered softly, and Marik exhaled, shoulders falling. His eyes snapped over to the redhead, narrow and annoyed. The blush faded after a moment.

"Fine," Marik grumbled, and he sat down onto the ground next to Ryou's unconscious form. He relayed his family's location to Bill before he let his head lean against the pillar behind him, closing his eyes. Bill turned to leave, but suddenly Marik's eyes snapped open, and Bill waited for him.

"Yugi might not be home," Marik uttered softly, eyes half-closed. _'After all this time I'm _still_ playing the roll of the Pharaoh's protector. _He'd_ be pissed.'_ "If he isn't there, check Seto Kaiba's house. Those two have a rivalry going on, and recently it's been hard for them to compete during _decent_ hours."

Before Bill could question further, the teen's head fell back and his eyes shut. In his hand was the Millennium Eye, clutched tightly: protected.

* * *

Yami was frowning unhappily at the black bag in his arms, fully aware that Kaiba was glaring at him as if the Pharaoh had orchestrated the entire event. The bag had managed to escape any sort of entrapment they'd laid before it (or on it), and thus Yami had been forced to hug the bag to his chest, with Kaiba holding onto the Ring with a blue oven mitt. Their duel abandoned and decks secured on their persons, both teens looked ready to kill.

"I can't believe our duel was interrupted _again_. And by a damn necklace!" Kaiba snarled, giving the Ring a jerk. Neither of the two duelists could reach in to untie the Ring, so it was either this or let it run amok through Kaiba's mansion. And Kaiba wasn't happy with either option.

"I'm not happy about this situation either, Kaiba," Yami grumped to the brunette before him, maroon eyes narrow. The Pharaoh was beginning to get snappy, which was more than likely due to lack of sleep. Yugi was sitting on a nearby couch, next to the sleeping form of Mokuba. The spiritual form of the teen was smiling weakly at his yami, who merely blinked in his direction.

"Think of it this way, Yami," Yugi said as he climbed to his feet and walked over to the actual spirit, placing a hand on his shoulder, "we could be at home-_ by ourselves_- with this problem."

Yami blinked at him and smiled thankfully. Kaiba stared at Yami, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you smiling at, Yugi?"

Yami jolted, turning and blinking at Kaiba before smirking impishly. "Yugi," he said simply. Kaiba rolled his blue eyes.

"_You_ are Yugi," the man said stubbornly, but his voice was tired, as if the statement was merely out of habit. Yami leaned his head back, closing his eyes with a moan. Kaiba's free hand went to his eyes, and he rubbed them wearily.

"I need coffee."

"I need a nap."

"I think you should look at the Items!"

Yami dropped his gaze at Yugi's exclamation, and his eyes widened in shock. The Ring had fallen still, but instead the movement had been replaced by a steadily-increasing glow from all the Items. Kaiba blinked down as well, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yami's Puzzle, which also had taken to glowing.

"I don't believe in this crap, but even _I_ know it's never good when they do that."

The Ring jerked once more, and Kaiba automatically jerked back, in both shock and anger at it. With that tug, the backpack tore apart, sending the Items flying through the air.

"Kaiba!" Yami snarled at him, reaching out to grab the Ring with a torn section of the backpack as protection. That accomplished, he watched at the Millennium Rod fly through the air, and the tip of the handle struck Kaiba on the forehead. The tall teen stumbled back before landing on his backside, the Millennium Rod landing in his lap and the Millennium Necklace landing on his head like some sort of crown moments later. The CEO placed a hand to his forehead, covering the spot the Rod had struck.

"What the fu-?!"

"Seto! Are you okay?!"

Kaiba blinked up at his younger brother, who had awoken when the bag originally tore. Mokuba was at his side in a second, picking the Necklace off his head and taking the Rod from his lap. He then turned and gave them to Yami. The Necklace was looped around the Pharaoh's wrist that held the Rod, the Ring held in his other hand. Yami stared down at the Items he'd gathered in his arms. Yugi raised an eyebrow at their innocent forms from his Yami's side.

"Huh… they've stopped glowing."

"Holy shit…"

Yugi and Yami blinked over at Kaiba, whose eyes were darting between the two forms, blue eyes wide and pupils small. "When," he began slowly, "were there two of you?!"

Mokuba blinked at Yami and then back to his brother. "But, Seto… there's only one Yugi."

Yugi turned to Yami, purple eyes staring into his maroon ones. / Do you think he can see me, Yami? /

/ Only one way to find out, / Yami said softly before turning around and staring at Kaiba, who was rubbing his eyes roughly as if to scrub the dual vision away. / Ask him something. /

Yugi nodded and stepped forward, making Kaiba wince when he did. He waved at him. "Uh… hi there Kaiba. Can… you see me?"

"Of course I can see you!" Kaiba snapped at him, glaring. Mokuba stared at his brother, slate-blue eyes wide. Yami chuckled, shaking his head.

"Maybe now you'll believe me when I say I'm _not_ Yugi, but _Yami_," the spirit said hopefully. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"I merely suffered a mild concussion due to a blow to the head, doubled with lack of sleep and irritation. Perfectly understandable," Kaiba returned, rising to his feet and dusting off his pants. Mokuba, however, was looking around the room.

"Yugi's here, too? Where? I want to see him!" the black-haired boy said, eyes bright with excitement. Kaiba groaned in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was bad enough that _he_ was seeing things that weren't there, but his brother actually _wanting_ to see things?

"Sorry, Mokuba. For the longest time, only Yugi and I could see each other in spirit form…"

"Don't go putting that garbage into my brother's head, Yami," Kaiba snarled, but winced when he realized what he just said. Before he could open his mouth to correct it, both Yami and Yugi had stepped forward.

"What did you call me, Kaiba?" the deep voice of Yami asked, a small smirk on his lips, although his hands were still clutching the Items. The _imaginary_ form of Yugi seemed equally pleased with this turn of events. Kaiba rolled his eyes and turned around, crossing his arms.

"Slip of the tongue!" he called over his shoulder, but his eyes were narrow in thought. Yami was satisfied with this, and Yugi smiled up at his yami.

/ I wonder why he can see me now, / Yugi said after a moment, frowning slightly. Yami gave a small shrug of his shoulders, and looked around for something to put the Items in.

/ Well, Joey always said a knock to the head might straighten him out… /

/ Yami! /

Before Yami could laugh, however, loud knocking noises sounded from the entrance hall. Yugi stiffened, looking at the Items in horror. "We've got to put them in something!" he exclaimed out loud. Kaiba didn't appear to hear him.

"How did they get past the gate…?" the CEO murmured to himself. He then turned to Mokuba.

"Mokuba, go find _Yugi_ a pillowcase for his trinkets."

The brothers separated, Mokuba towards the back of the house while Kaiba walked over to a table, picking up his laptop. After several keystrokes, Kaiba spoke into its built-in microphone, eyes narrowed at the group of five men that appeared on the screen from the security camera.

"Who is at the door? State your business!"

The men looked startled, and looked around and muttering amongst themselves. Finally, the oldest one amongst them- his beard was long enough to tuck into his pants- called out, looking around as if to find the location of the voice.

"We are here to speak with Mister Yugi Mutou. It is urgent, for it concerns his friends."

Kaiba looked over his shoulder, and saw Yami peering down at the screen, a concerned look on is face. Yugi had paled slightly. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"I'll check it out," he said in a soft voice, a finger placed over the microphone. "Wait a few minutes and then come over." With that, Kaiba turned back to the screen, removing his finger.

"I'll be there in a minute," he snarled into the laptop before closing it roughly. He tucked it under his left arm and strode confidently from the room. Moments later, Mokuba came rushing back in with a brown pillowcase.

"It's one of mine," the boy said with a smile, "so I expect it back!"

Once the Items were deposited (and the Ring was wrapped in a towel with duct tape and tied to one of Kaiba's metal coffee cups), Yami, Mokuba, and Yugi shuffled quietly through the house, moving towards the entrance hall. Once there, Yugi peered around the corner for them, as no one but Kaiba could see him anyway, and returned quickly.

"They're talking too quiet for me to hear, but… they look nervous," Yugi said softly, eyeing the corner. Yami exhaled, holding the pillowcase tightly in one hand before moving towards the hall.

"Kaiba? Who interrupted our duel?" the spiky-haired spirit said, his maroon eyes focused on the men gathered just outside the door. Kaiba turned, eyes twitching from Yami, to Yugi, and then finally to Mokuba behind them.

"They say they're friends of Ryou and Marik's. They speak English, so you're lucky I'm here," Kaiba grunted to the teen in Japanese. "This one is Bill Weasley- Ryou apparently sent a picture of him, or so he says. I didn't bother to get the rest of their names, but the old guy is the leader. His name is Albus Dumbledore."

Mokuba's eyes lightened and he rushed ahead. "You know Ryou and Marik?" he asked in English, slate blue eyes wide. Kaiba exhaled at his brother's antics. The person called Bill Weasley, a redhead who looked only a few years older than Kaiba himself, nodded, but there was a dark look to his blue eyes. Mokuba looked nervous, and turned around to look at Yami.

The spirit moved forward a few paces, into the light from the outside. All eyes immediately snapped to his Millennium Puzzle. Yugi gulped slightly, and turned his gaze upon his yami. Yami grabbed the Puzzle possessively with one hand, maroon eyes narrow. Seeing this, the redhead held up his hands, shaking his head.

"We aren't here to take that, or any of the others," Bill Weasley said quickly, and Mokuba translated swiftly for Yami. Yami then spoke, which Kaiba translated back.

"He's asking what you're doing here and how you know about '_the others_,'" the CEO said, a dangerous glint to his eyes. Bill winced slightly before looking away.

"Ryou's father's dig sight… was attacked today."

Mokuba's mouth dropped open, and Kaiba quickly picked up where his brother had left off. Yami's face paled swiftly, and Yugi clamped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide with horror. Finally, the lighter half was able to ask a question, which Yami repeated. Kaiba turned around.

"Were there any… injuries?"

They were all still for a moment before the elderly man stepped forward, a long grey beard on his face. His blue eyes were sorrowful behind his half-moon spectacles.

"…Everyone but Mister Marik Ishtar and Mister Ryou Bakura were killed," this man finally said.

Mokuba let out a cry, taking a few steps backwards, white as a ghost. Kaiba slowly turned around and translated. Yugi let out a sob and vanished into thin air, and Yami clenched his open fist, looking away. He swore loudly in ancient Egyptian after a moment, and turned around, placing a hand to his face. After a moment, Yugi took control and spun back around, tears rolling from his violet eyes.

Kaiba blinked down at the shorter teen, and then his eyes twitched to where the spirit form of Yami was standing over his lighter-half's figure.

After a few seconds, Dumbledore spoke once more, "Mister Ishtar was the one who informed us of the Millennium Items."

He looked down at the spiky-haired teen, and finally Yugi spoke up. Kaiba turned again, but there was an odd glint to his blue eyes.

"Why are there so many of you here? If you were just notifying us, there would only be at most three of you. Also, you wouldn't come at such an absurd hour," Kaiba stated, and Mokuba blinked at his brother. The older man, taking in that this wasn't the asked question, nodded softly.

"Very astute of you, Mister Seto Kaiba. We fear that those who attacked your friends will also come here. Due to his ownership of the Millennium Items, we have come to take Mister Yugi Mutou to a safer place."

Mokuba was translating what his brother had just asked (who earned a glare from Yami) and then their answer. Yugi jumped before shaking his head, the pillowcase clanking noisily as he did.

"Iie!" he cried, earning a confused glance from Kaiba and several of the wizards behind him. Although most could guess what was said, Kaiba couldn't help but turn around and deadpan, "He said '_no_.'"

"We aren't here to hurt you, Mister Mutou, if that is what bothers you," the old man said again. Kaiba turned and relayed this to Yugi. Yami rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"If they were, I'd send them to the Shadow Realm…"

Yugi shook his head swiftly at the implication. Blushing, he quickly explained to Kaiba, who blinked a few times, nose wrinkling at the words.

"But Yugi, I don't need protection," the CEO muttered in Japanese to the shorter teen. Yami cleared his throat, but Kaiba didn't look at him.

"Kaiba," Yami spoke anyway, "if whomever this is finds Ishizu's stone tablet of me and the High Priest, how long do you think it'll take them to recognize you, the CEO of a multi-national gaming corporation? And then find you and, from there, Mokuba?"

Kaiba visibly paled, and Yugi merely whispered, "Please, Kaiba- listen to him."

Finally, Kaiba turned around, eyes narrowing slightly. "Yugi," Kaiba began to the English-speaking wizards, "wants you to take Mokuba and I as well."

"Done," the elderly wizard said pleasantly. Dumbledore motioned for the boys to exit the building. Yugi quickly sprinted forward, chattering anxiously to Kaiba.

"He wants to know about his other friends- they're often seen with him wherever he goes."

Dumbledore paused, looking at the wizards around him. Two of them nodded and Dumbledore smiled them.

"We can't take them with us, unfortunately. If you could give us their names, we will place sentries by their houses."

After a quick translation, Yami's eyes narrowed, and Yugi chanced a quick glance up at him. The spirit nodded to him. "I trust him, Yugi," Yami turned back to where Dumbledore stood, "he is a pure soul."

Yugi exhaled and then began to speak, and Kaiba translated.

"Alright… Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Téa Gardner. They all live around here, and if you want their addresses, they are-"

"Unfortunately, we will not have time to gather the addresses," Dumbledore said, raising his hand for silence and earning a harsh glare from Kaiba at the interruption. Dumbledore, carrying on as if he'd never seen it, motioned to the two who volunteered and nodded. "You have the names, so the rest shouldn't be hard to find. We'll return later with reinforcements."

They nodded and before the group's eyes, they disappeared with soft popping noises. Kaiba took a step backwards, blinking and shaking his head. As if clutching to technology would save him from magic, he hugged the laptop tighter to his side. "I just need coffee and sleep," he murmured, eyes looking anywhere but at the incorporeal form of Yami. The spirit of the Pharaoh sighed behind him, and Yugi blinked a few times, wiping the tears from his face and speaking again. Kaiba sighed.

"His grandfather-"

"We located Mister Solomon Mutou's flight. We'll have him guarded as soon as he touches the ground."

Yugi relaxed more so after this, and walked alongside Mokuba, who had a thoughtful look on his face. "Mokuba? What's wrong?" Yugi finally asked.

The slate-eyed boy jumped, turning and smiling weakly at him. "Oh, nothing," he lied, rubbing the back of his head.

Dumbledore turned to Kaiba and touched the young man on the shoulder. Kaiba looked up from his nose pinching and glared at him. "Now _what_?" he snapped.

"I'm going to need you to tell Mister Mutou that you will all need to grab onto our arms for a moment, and then there might be some discomfort," the man said pleasantly. Kaiba eyed him darkly.

"What do you mean by '_discomfort_?'"

Mokuba, meanwhile, was telling Yugi what Kaiba was told, and Yami spoke softly. / I'm heading into the Puzzle. /

/ Alright. I'll call if I need anything. /

The spirit phased out, and Yugi offered his arm to either of the two men, and Bill Weasley offered his back, smiling softly. Yugi smiled back and latched onto it. The other grinned at the other boy.

"I'm Arthur Weasley," he said. Mokuba smiled at him.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba."

"Nice to meet you, Mokuba," Arthur said as the boy took his arm gently. Dumbledore walked over to Mokuba pressing a piece of paper into his hand.

"Look at it, memorize it, and then tell Mister Mutou what it says," he said with a smile, and turned to Kaiba and handed him another slip.

"Yugi," Mokuba began, peering at the paper, "remember this: _The Order of the Phoenix is located at Twelve Grimmauld Place_."

Yugi blinked before turning is eyes to the paper, concentrating. / Do you have it, Yami? /

/ Of course. /

Then the paper was pulled from Mokuba's grasp, and Dumbledore had pulled out a stick and pointed it at the two pieces of paper. Kaiba stared at him for several moments before covering his eyes with his free hand.

"No more magic tricks…" he groaned unhappily, peeking between his fingers at the outstretched hand, while Dumbledore merely smiled and set the piece of paper on fire with a wave of his wand.

Yugi stared at the sight before him, and felt Yami's surprise. / That's impressive magic. /

/ I'll say. Is this a good idea, Yami? /

Yugi felt a slight chuckle from the Puzzle. / We'll be fine, Yugi. /

Yugi settled, but kept his eyes on the elderly man in front of him, whose arm Kaiba had gripped and nodded to the others. "Don't be alarmed," he uttered softly.

The man to the side of Yugi twisted slightly, and he felt the world go black, and the feeling of being squeezed from all direction was suddenly upon him. His fingers clenched tighter to Bill's arm, and he squeaked.

/ Yugi?! / the spirit of the Puzzle cried upon feeling his other's distress, but moments later Yugi felt the pressure leave him. Suddenly, the world came back to his eyes, and in front of him was a large apartment building. Yugi released the man's arm, smiling apologetically at him. Yami materialized beside him, raising an eyebrow at the place.

"Is it customary for the British to skip the number twelve?" he asked quietly, and Yugi saw what had led to his confusion: the twelfth building had been omitted between numbers eleven and thirteen. Kaiba murmured this question to Dumbledore who merely laughed at the tall teen CEO.

"Just concentrate on what I showed you before!"

Mokuba relayed the message, and Yugi closed his eyes thinking back to the paper, thinking of the text he couldn't read but could recognize. He heard Yami gasp next to him, and Yugi opened his eyes. His mouth dropped open.

A door had squeezed between the two others Grimmaulds, and the rest of the building slowly pushed itself through. The mysteriously missing Grimmauld Place suddenly folded itself from the other two buildings, and Yugi blinked. Mokuba exhaled next to him.

"That's… really cool."

Dumbledore stepped forward, and Kaiba was left to bury his head into his hands, shaking it quietly, his laptop hugged to his chest by his elbows. "Welcome," the elderly man said, "please hurry inside."

* * *

**AFTER NOTES: **I don't know how I feel about this chapter. A part of me feels it's boring, and the other part thinks it's okay. Maybe it's because no one dies? O.o I enjoyed writing the interactions between Kaiba and Yami, and Kaiba's forceful introduction into the world of magic. Kaiba is probably out-of-character, but I think he'd react with disgust and annoyance that magic did exist, as it would be a low-blow to his ego. Hey, we're introduced to two of the Golden Trio in the next chapter! Huzzah!

**POLL THE AUDIENCE:** So, what do you think? Is this chapter dull, or interesting? If it was dull, what do _you_ think could have helped? It'll help me in the future, so give your opinions! :D


	4. Coadunatio, Maero

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Wow- thanks for the support everyone! XD I felt I should probably address this quickly: Yami Bakura will indeed show up in this story. However, it won't occur for quite some time. I'll tell you this: _Christmas_ will an interesting time for them. :D

_Also_: I recently caved and bought the first two volumes of the _Yu-Gi-Oh! _manga. Huzzah!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this. Also, I blame Necessity for the overall blandness of this chapter. That bitch.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR:  
****COADUNATIO****, MAERO**

* * *

The first thing the Yugi noticed about the house was that it was dark. And dirty. And smelled vaguely like rotten cabbages and Domino High's Wednesday special. He moved forward quietly, staring upwards at the chandelier overhead, and then to the peeling walls. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and he unconsciously rubbed his arms in an attempt to clear the idea that he was covered in them. Yami patted his shoulder weakly, but Yugi got the impression that he, too, disliked the air of the place.

Yugi heard someone talking behind him, and turned his violet gaze upon Dumbledore's form, who was conversing with Kaiba in English. The CEO stared at the man, but, with a nudge from Mokuba, turned to Yugi.

"They're going to cast a Language Charm on you, Yugi, but it's only temporary- it'll last about a month. You'll be able to speak and understand English perfectly. Which is great, because I'm getting a migraine with all this translating and magic bullshit."

"Seto!" Mokuba scolded, striking his brother's side with the back of his hand lightly. This earned a grunt from the elder Kaiba, but the brunette retreated a few steps back, eyes warily trained on Dumbledore as he approached his rival.

Yami glared at the older man, gripping his hikari's shoulders tightly. Yugi had to keep himself from reaching up and taking hold of his yami's hands, especially when Dumbledore pulled a wand from his robes and pointed it at him.

/ I'm watching him, Yugi. I'll send him to the Shadow Realm if he tries anything funny. /

/ Th-thanks… / came the whimpered reply through the mind-link. The teen flinched, but kept staring when the man's wand came to a rest on his head.

Dumbledore raised the wand, and swirled it above his head as he spoke, swiftly and clearly, "_Discolingua Inglish._"

He tapped Yugi roughly on the head, and pressure behind his ears appeared, like he'd suddenly gone up in an airplane. He winced, and rubbed his ears. Behind him, he could feel Yami doing the same thing.

"Did it work?" he asked automatically to Kaiba. Kaiba's jaw dropped open and he closed his eyes. Mokuba smiled brightly and rushed forward.

"You're speaking English! Can you still speak Japanese?"

Yugi blinked for a moment, turning his gaze downward. After a moment, he looked up, nodding. "Hai."

Mokuba grinned and was about to say more when a short, plump woman with flaming red hair and soft ginger eyes scooted into the room. Yugi instantly turned to her and smiled slightly. She smiled down at him and Mokuba, and then spied Kaiba who was already on his computer. Yami rolled his eyes- the teen was probably typing something to his company. The eldest male redhead with whom Mokuba had traveled watched it in awe.

"Say, boy, what is that contraption?" he asked, blue eyes bright with curiosity as he peered over the CEO's shoulder. Kaiba glared at him for a moment before turning back to his work.

"Are you telling me you _magicians_ have never seen a laptop before?"

"A _lap-top_? But, it seems to work just fine without your lap!"

"Oh for the love of-"

"Arthur! You let that Muggle boy be! He's probably very worried about his friends!" the kindly redheaded woman called over, and the man withered slightly. "Oh, alright Molly…"

Kaiba exhaled as the man left his side, and typed with renewed passion. Seconds later, he closed the laptop, earning an "Oooo!" from Arthur.

"Mokuba, you and I are on a _one-week_ vacation to England. I just hope those incompetent fools at KaibaCorp don't run us into the ground by then…"

"Give them more credit than that, Seto!" the shorter Kaiba cried, rushing to his brother's side. The elder Kaiba groaned softly, turning his eyes from the puppy-dog pout on his brother's face.

"I'll give it when they earn it."

The two Kaiba's bickered softly, playfully. Yugi, however, had turned around and was staring at Molly Weasley. Yami cleared his throat, earning Kaiba's attention, and therefore Mokuba's.

"Ma'am… do you know where my friends are?" Yugi asked quietly, worry evident in his violet gaze. The kindly woman instantly melted, and quickly rushed forward, beckoning them to follow. The men who'd escorted them moved off to another doorway, and the boys followed the woman.

"They're in a room just up ahead. My youngest son Ron and his friends Hermione are with them. Oh the poor dears…"

They reached a room on the far end of the long hallway, the door closed and dark looking. Yugi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and Mrs. Weasley knocked softly on the door and, with a parting smile, left them. After a few moments, the door was opened by a tall redheaded boy with blue eyes. He stared at Yugi- or rather, his hair- for a moment before someone called from behind him:

"Ron, will you let them in already?"

The boy jumped before spinning around, "Sorry Hermione." He then turned back to the group. "Y-yeah, c'mon in."

He stood aside, and Yugi darted inside and was followed quickly by Mokuba and Kaiba. His eyes widened at the sight before him, Yami stilling a few paces behind.

Marik was reclining in an puffy purple chair, a washcloth over his eyes and a violet blanket on his person. There was a couch next to the chair- red, gold, and green plaid in design- and Ryou was laying on that, another purple blanket covering him. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed on chest, the right wrapped in bandages.

A bushy-haired brunette quickly rose from a footstool by the couch to a stand, her soft brown eyes watching the trio quietly. The redheaded teen quickly took his place by her side. Yugi deposited the bag of Items on the nearby coffee table with a _clank_, and paused in his movements.

Marik was the first to move, removing the washcloth from his eyes and pulling himself up to a sit. He blinked at them quietly, lavender eyes filled with a strange emotion and brows furrowed. He rose to a stand, the violet blanket falling from his form. His lip twitched into a smirk, his eyes darting to the four forms he recognized- Yugi, Mokuba, Yami, and then on Kaiba.

"So, you were able to drag binky-boy from his company, huh?" Marik uttered in English.

Yugi smiled slightly before walking forward and stopping in front of him, looking up at him. "Are you okay, Marik?"

Marik's lip twitch again, but he shrugged quietly, looking down at Ryou. "I'm not the one to be worried about, Yugi."

"Are you sure, Marik?" Yugi prodded again, and Marik nodded, knowing what Yugi was referring to.

"I'm sure. One of the people here gave me a drink- had weird steam. It really put me at ease," he said, and sank back down on the chair, his facial expressions were calm. He turned and gestured to the two other teens in the room.

"Guys, this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley," Marik said, and the trio from Japan turned to them. The two smiled and offered small waves in greeting. "And Ron, Hermione, this is Yugi Mutou-" the tri-color-haired teen smiled and waved at them- "Mokuba Kaiba-" Mokuba smiled wider and waved a bit more fiercely- "and Seto Kaiba." The eldest Kaiba stared at them quietly from where he leaned against the wall.

Hermione walked forward, standing beside Yugi and Mokuba as they watched Ryou's silent sleep. Ron, after a moment, reluctantly followed. Yami, meanwhile, hovered back with Kaiba, giving him a disapproving glare, which was returned by the blue-eyed CEO. Hermione, unaware of the battle of wills behind her, began to speak.

"Ryou's mostly fine… he was awake earlier, but Professor Snape made him a simple Sleeping Draught." When she saw the raised eyebrows of Yugi and Mokuba, she explained, "Oh, Professor Snape teaches Potions at Hogwarts, our school. He's excellent, so don't worry."

Ron growled under his breath, blue eyes dropping to the ground, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. Yugi blinked again, and this time it was Ron who explained.

"He's my least favorite professor," the redhead murmured. Hermione frowned at him, but turned to the boys next to her.

"We don't know much of what actually happened, however. Marik's been falling in and out of sleep- an unfortunate side-effect of the Draught of Peace- and this is the most awake he's been."

The group then turned their eyes upon Marik, who paled faintly from his spot on the chair. He turned his face away for a moment, eyes narrow, but turned back.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But… don't ask Ryou for a better telling later. I didn't know what they were saying at the time- not that it mattered, I suppose. But I'll tell what I know."

The rest of the group gathered around, sitting on the floor, sans Kaiba who remained at the wall and Yami, who positioned himself behind Yugi. And slowly, Marik began to retell the events that transpired earlier that day. The faces of the group slowly grew paler and paler. When Marik reached the near end of his tale, his eyes had focused on the pale carpet, his tanned face almost without color.

"Then the woman turned on Ryou and said something- that damn incantation- and Ryou manipulated the shadows again, and formed a shield…"

Ron's eyes widened. "But, didn't it break the last time he did that?!"

Marik turned to him from the chair, blonde hair falling across his vision, covering one eye. "Yes. And it broke through again."

Kaiba- who'd been drawn over as the tale was told- stared down at Marik with narrow eyes. "Then why is he still alive?" the CEO grunted, causing those who'd been pulled in to jump. Marik paused for a moment, before pulling something gold from his pocket.

"Because of this," he said, and the Millennium Eye lay in his hand.

While Ron and Hermione didn't understand the significance behind the events, the others did. A flicker of light later and 'Yugi' leapt to his feet, maroon eyes wide at the sight of the missing Item.

"Marik! Where did you-?!"

"Ryou had it. I think he had it the whole time," Marik said softly, staring at the bit of gold in his hand. "It saved him, Yugi. It saved both of us. He held it in front of him, and the green lightning struck this instead of him, and took the blast. He was merely knocked into his soul… I mean, knocked unconscious for a minute, and has some scars on his arm."

Ron, oblivious to Marik's mess-up, reached over and poked the Item with a finger, frowning at it. "What _is_ that?"

Yugi, once again in control, sat back down, and held his own Puzzle in his hands. / What do we do? /

/ Give them the most basic: five thousand year old magic Egyptian items. I'd rather not find out how these wizards feel about possession just yet. /

/ Understood. /

Marik, noticing Yugi's spaced look, instantly started to talk to draw attention from the teen. "They're old Egyptian Items. From what we can tell, they were made about five thousand years ago. Obviously," Marik paused, "they're magic."

"What _kind_ of magic? I've never seen anything like these in any books before," Hermione said, reaching over and prodding the Eye of Wadjet on the Millennium Item with the tip of her wand. The Eye glowed brightly at the contact, causing the Puzzle around Yugi's neck to light up as well. The group blinked at one another.

"Well, that's one mystery solved," Kaiba grunted from behind, and both Yugi and Yami turned and stared at him. Yugi spoke, "What?"

"Why the others glowed before: reacting to the Eye."

Yugi paused, looking at Yami from the corner of his eye. The spirit's eyebrows were raised. / Must have been a reaction to the different type of magic. / Both Ron and Hermione flinched at that. They stared at the golden orb in Marik's hand.

"The _Eye_?!" Ron cried, and Marik smirked at his face.

"Yup, used to be in some guy's head, too. Yugi and Kaiba saw that, from what Ryou told me about it," Marik said with a grin.

Kaiba rolled his eyes while Yugi gave a small nod, peering at the unconscious boy, "Ryou must've pulled it out while we were celebrating…"

This made Ron gag and he vigorously wiped his finger onto his pant leg, scooting a few inches from Ryou's bedside. Hermione frowned at him, but rubbed the tip of her wand off as well.

"But… wait," Hermione said, putting her wand away and standing up to pace the floor. "You said that Ryou used the shadows to form a shield. That's _magic._ Did that gold thing let him do that?"

Yami shrugged and nodded. Yugi turned to the girl. "Probably. We still don't know much about them."

Hermione frowned, hand raised to her chin. She turned back to the boys, eyes narrow.

"Can all of you do magic with these Items?"

Yugi nodded, and Marik did as well. Kaiba grunted, rolling his eyes slightly. Hermione seemed to take that as a yes, for she then dropped her hands to her sides, confusion written on her face.

"Then, wouldn't that make you wizards?"

Yugi blinked, leaning his head to the side while Marik nearly dropped the Eye. Kaiba stared at her. "What?"

Hermione resumed her pacing. "You all have been using these Items to channel magical energy. That's basically what witches and wizards do. Except we use wands. But, really, couldn't these Egyptian artifacts actually be some form of ancient way to harness the magical energies?"

Ron, who had been staring at the orb quietly, jumped when it clicked with him. "Jeez, Hermione! You've got a point there! You guys could really be wizards! Did you go to any magic schools from where you come from?"

Marik stared blankly at Ron's question. Kaiba twitched, eyes turning downward. Mokuba paled quietly and turned his eyes upon his hands. Yami blinked quietly at this question. Yugi looked back at the two in front of him.

"Uh… no. I've been in a regular school my whole life. Marik was home-schooled in Egypt. Kaiba and Mokuba were home-schooled for awhile and then transferred to the regular schools… Mokuba, what's wrong?"

Mokuba had been looking from his older brother to the two English teens, slate eyes wide. Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose and Mokuba turned back to Yugi.

"Uh… well… you see…"

"Mokuba got a letter for the Japanese Imperial School of Magic," Kaiba said, cutting off his babbling brother. The black-haired boy blushed, turning his head down to his hands. Yugi blinked at him.

"Wh-what?"

"I thought it was a joke originally from the mutt or another one of the dweeb squad," Kaiba mused with a smirk, "but now I suppose it's real."

"Oh, it's quite real!" Hermione quickly chirped, sprinting over to Kaiba's side in an instant. "It's one of the more prestigious schools of Japan."

Yami smirked at that, and Kaiba grunted, turning to stare at the teen beside him. He then looked down at Mokuba. "Really?" he murmured, blue eyes thoughtful.

"Oh, it is quite a good school," said a familiar voice behind them, "but I'll always hold Hogwarts close to my heart."

Kaiba turned, eyeing Dumbledore from over his shoulder. "I suppose you're a Professor at this 'Hogwarts,' hmm?"

Dumbledore smiled softly, holding an envelope in his hands. "Headmaster, actually," he said. He then presented the envelope to Kaiba, who snatched it from him quickly. He eyed it blankly.

"There's nothing written on it," Kaiba deadpanned. Dumbledore nodded to him pleasantly.

"That is because I just wrote it to you," Dumbledore said, and walked past him, producing several more envelopes, which he handed to Yugi, Mokuba, and Marik. He left another on the table. This one had a name on it in a green ink: _Ryou Bakura_.

Yugi eyed the envelope quietly, and his yami came around, peering over his shoulder at it. Dumbledore chuckled at the boys, who seemed unwilling to open the faded yellow paper.

"Yes, as I am sure you have guessed, these are invitations to Hogwarts," he said amiably, and Hermione and Ron gasped. Dumbledore continued, "Miss Granger was indeed correct in saying that your abilities to use these 'Millennium Items' is, in actuality, a form of controlled magic."

"Then why didn't any of _us_ get a fancy letter with an invitation to some prestigious magic school?" Marik said, turning his attention from the envelope in his hands. Hermione nodded quietly.

"Yes, Headmaster, why didn't they get a letter for another school when they came of age?" she paused for a moment. "Do some students gain their magical abilities _later_ in life?"

Dumbledore smiled at these questions, and stood calmly by the door, his blue eyes twinkling.

"I believe that you all probably had the ability to do magic, but it was small and nothing that would have allowed you to do magic. Your initial contact with these Items may have, in fact, made your own internal magics bloom. When exactly did you get these Items?"

Yugi blinked down at the Puzzle, frowning at it. "Well… my Puzzle became active about a year ago. I… uh… had to put it together."

Marik smirked at this, and the rest of the group turned their eyes upon him. "I've had contact with the Millennium Rod for all of my life. However, the Rod's power- and for that matter, the power of all the Items- was returned the moment that the Puzzle was completed. So, about a year ago for all of us in the room would adequately describe it."

Dumbledore let his gaze rest upon the Ishtar teen, but turned his bespectacled gaze from him and back onto bag on the table. "Is that where the others are?" he asked the spiky-haired boy. Yugi nodded, letting his own eyes fall upon it. Dumbledore nodded, a strange glow to his kind eyes, and walked by Seto Kaiba. He smiled at the CEO.

"Please, think about it," was all he uttered before disembarking from the room, closing the door softly behind him. Kaiba stared at the envelope, while Mokuba had already torn open his, and was holding the letter. His eyes were wide and gleeful as they scanned the parchment.

"Wow! Look at this- is this real parchment? And a uniform code! And- Seto, look! _Dragon-_hide gloves!"

Kaiba was instantly crouched at his brother's side, laptop laying on the coffee table and gazing over Mokuba's shoulder at the list. He looked up at Hermione, Ron seemingly forgotten.

"Dragons are real?"

Ron hid a snicker behind his hand (which earned a squeak-inducing glare from the eldest Kaiba) but Hermione merely nodded. "Oh, yes- several different species in fact. The Ground Keeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor has quite a love of them himself."

Kaiba turned back to his brother's list, then to the envelope in his hand, eyeing it with renewed curiosity. Yugi and Marik, meanwhile, and huddled together and were peering at the list. Marik looked up from the letter, blinking at Ron. The redhead quickly walked over.

"What is it, mate?"

Marik blinked a few times before turning back to the paper. "Well… where do we get this stuff at, anyway? I've never seen a wizarding department store in Egypt…"

"We'll get it from Diagon Alley. It's only accessible to wizarding folk- it has a charm so that Muggles can't see it. So unless your magic was 'active' when you walked by it, I doubt you'd notice one," Ron stated matter-of-factly. The duo blinked at one another and turned back to the list. Yugi scratched his left temple.

"But, what about our families? We can't just up and leave like this…" the teen said quietly, violet eyes narrow. He turned his eyes upon Marik, and Marik nodded quietly.

"Um…" Yugi began, getting to his feet and drawing Hermione's and Ron's attentions. Yugi blushed slightly. "Do… do you think that we could have a moment to talk to each other… alone?"

Hermione blinked before smiling quietly, turning to Ron and jerking her head towards the door. Ron frowned slightly, but walked over to it anyway. Hermione nodded her head. "It's a wonderful place, you know," she said as she paused by the door. "I come from a regular family, just like you. It's quite nice." She then turned and closed the door behind her.

Yugi exhaled, turning and staring at the others. Yami stepped forward, pacing slightly. Marik's and Kaiba's eyes were trained on him, while Mokuba read his letter again with glee. Yami paused, turning to them.

"Speak in Japanese, that way we don't have to worry so much," the spirit uttered in said language. Kaiba merely grunted.

"Fine. Mokuba, Japanese."

"Okay, Seto."

Yugi smiled quietly before turning to the sleeping form of Ryou, eyes soft and sad. "What do we do now?"

Marik turned to Yugi, shrugging quietly. "If you go, Yugi, I'm going. And, knowing Ryou, all this magic stuff will have him leaping at the chance." The blonde frowned, staring at the ground darkly, "And it's not like he has anything else to return to."

Kaiba rolled his eyes when the group turned back to him. "I'm the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. I severely doubt that I could go to some boarding school to play magic games. Besides- I've never had a _magical_ experience with an Item."

"But you can see Yami now," Yugi pointed out, at which the spirit smirked at the CEO. Marik blinked from the Pharaoh over to the brunette.

"He _can_?" the Egyptian said, blinking slightly. Kaiba grumbled under his breath, but gave a displeased nod. Marik chuckled before speaking. "Then there you go! You've got the magical abilities we do. Only one who has been 'blessed' by a Millennium Item can see the spiritual forms. Mokuba, talk your brother into going," the lavender-eyed teen nagged. Mokuba obliged.

"Seto…" Mokuba began, face melting into one of adorableness and will-bending power. Seto grumbled unhappily, turning eyes to his brother's face.

"How will I run the company?" he asked, placing his last and only line of defense against the unstoppable might of the puppy-face.

"You have a laptop with wireless internet access. Are you telling me that my brother, the great Seto Kaiba, feels he'll be defeated by separation?" Mokuba said softly. Kaiba wilted, grumbling unhappily to himself before he glared at them.

"Fine. I'll go. But only if they can guarantee I can get time to run my company."

"Then there's no way I'm _not_ going!" Mokuba said, gleeful as he leapt to his feet, clutching the letter.

Yugi blinked quietly. "But… what about my friends? Aren't they still in danger?"

"Yugi," Yami began, crouching down and gripping his right shoulder tightly, "even if you were to stay, there would still be danger. As Marik said, Ryou was knocked into his soul room from a single blast. We couldn't protect them from this magic. Not at our current level of understanding it, anyway. Let's try this, and maybe we can learn to defend ourselves better. We mustn't let a tragedy such as this occur again."

Yugi stared at the Puzzle around his neck for a moment before looking up, nodding. "Alright. I'll go too."

There was a soft creaking, squeaking noise.

"Well, if all of you are going," said a soft voice in Japanese, "then I'm going, too."

All four head snapped around, staring as Ryou pulled himself to his feet, holding the letter in his hands. His doe-brown eyes blinked at them, and he was smiling faintly. Yugi leapt to his feet, running around the table. He latched onto the boy with a hug.

"Ryou!"

Ryou blinked at this, when suddenly Mokuba had clutched his other side. Marik managed to squeeze his way in, grabbing onto him as well. Yami was there moments later. Kaiba stood, frowning at the white-haired teen. After receiving a reproachful look from Mokuba, the CEO placed a hesitant hand on Ryou's shoulder. The sixteen year old albino blinked at his welcome, and smiled thankfully. Marik pressed the Millennium Eye in Ryou's hand, causing the brown-eyed teen to flinch. As they separated, Ryou grabbed Yugi's shoulder gently, and frowned, averting his eyes.

"I… I'm sorry Yugi… and Yami," the teen began, causing both hikari and yami to look from Ryou to each other and back. Yami blinked.

"Why, Ryou?" the spirit said, crossing his arms.

Ryou sniffed slightly. "I never told you about the Millennium Eye. I betrayed your trust. I just… I couldn't bring myself to part with it…"

"And it's a good thing," Yami said, earning a startled look from Ryou. "You should listen to your instincts. They saved you and Marik."

"But I couldn't save anyone else…" Ryou began, but was stopped.

"Don't think about that," Kaiba ordered, once again leaning on a nearby wall. "You saved yourself and Marik. You gave these bozos a chance to figure out who was behind the attack. Don't blame yourself for not dying with the others. Concentrate on saving one more person next time."

Ryou blinked at him. "Next time?" Kaiba grunted, rolling his eyes.

"There will always be a next time. Prepare for it, focus on that instead of what you couldn't do," Kaiba replied gruffly, closing his own eyes as he spoke.

Ryou frowned before nodding, clutching the Millennium Eye in his bandaged right hand. Marik scratched the back of his head as he looked at the Millennium Item.

"I know this seems like a horrible thing to say _right now_, but…" Marik turned his eyes, nodding towards the bag of gold on the table. Yugi blinked in confusion while Yami frowned.

Marik held up his hands at the annoyed gaze from the Pharaoh. "Look, all I'm saying is that these people know that we have the Items. I'd rather not be caught naked. Besides," he ventured when Yami's gaze had softened, "it's a bad idea to keep them all in one spot."

"He's right, Yami," Kaiba spoke up after a few moments of harsh silence. He walked over to the table and picked up the bag, throwing it to Yugi. The teen cried out, but caught it, juggling it for a moment. He looked up at Yami, and they shared a nod. After a flash, the Pharaoh was the one holding the bag. Yugi was nowhere to be seen.

"The kiddo a bit tired?" Marik smirked, crossing his arms. Yami frowned at him.

"Actually, he is," the deep-voiced spirit snapped, and opened bag, digging into it. After a moment, the ex-Pharaoh was holding a wad of towel and duct tape, tied to a metal coffee cup. Ryou's face instantly paled, and he turned away, hugging himself. The feeling of desperation returned, and the loneliness, but there was something new to the experience:

'_Just grab it,'_ his mind whispered to him.

Ryou spun completely around, shivering slightly. Yami blinked at his back, concern on his face. Marik reached over and touched Ryou's shoulder, but the albino flinched away.

"I'm fine," came the gentle whisper, "please continue."

Marik nodded, and turned back to Yami. The tri-color-haired ex-royal stared at Ryou's back, but held the bag out in front of him.

"Take what you touch first. The Shadows will know if you don't," Yami said with a smirk, earning an admonishing cry from Yugi.

/ Yami! You can't turn this into a _Shadow _Game! /

The spirit chuckled at him, but smirked. / Don't worry- I'm not. /

Marik rolled his eyes and placed a hand into the bag along with Kaiba next to him. Kaiba growled, pulling out the Millennium Rod, eyeing it with distaste. Marik saw this and sighed, wincing slightly when he pulled his hand back out. The Millennium Necklace dangled from his grasp, earning a frown from its new holder. Marik, trying to forget the fact that his Item used to be worn by his sister, smirked at Kaiba.

"So you are indeed the High Priest's reincarnation!"

Kaiba shot him a glare that made Marik's grin falter. "Say that again in public and I will gut you with this." This statement made Marik grin again.

"And you indeed can! Just twist the top…"

"Shut up, Ishtar."

There was a knock on the door at that moment, and Yami threw the Ring back into the bag, clenching it tightly before returning control to Yugi with a flash. The door opened, and in stepped Dumbledore, followed by a greasy-haired man with dark eyes. Ryou turned and looked at the two men, nodding his head slightly to them, releasing his grip on his own torso.

While Kaiba and Marik could feel a chill of negativity roll through them (which caused Marik to shiver), it was Yugi (and Yami) and Ryou who could truly feel it. It was a strange sort of… _tainted _darkness oozing from the greasy-haired male, as if marked by the shadows themselves. However, this was a mere_ smudge_ on the man's soul- he was otherwise completely normal. Yugi mentally prodded Yami, who mentally nodded back.

/ I know- we need to watch this one. /

The two men, followed by Ron and Hermione moments later, came into the room. Dumbledore eyed the new Items that were in the hands of the two teens.

"Are these more of the Items?" he asked, and Yugi nodded.

"Yes, the Millennium Rod and Necklace. I'm giving them to Kaiba and Marik for safe-keeping. …And for protection when we venture into this new world while we attend your school."

Dumbledore's eyes brightened quickly. "So, you've decided to go, then?"

The five boys all nodded, and the Headmaster turned to the black-haired man. "Severus, these boys will be new students at Hogwarts."

The man turned his dark gaze upon each of them in turn, pausing on Ryou for a moment longer before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Wonderful," the man droned and turned to leave. Ryou stepped forward.

"S-sir?" the white-haired boy questioned softly. This stopped the greasy-haired male in his tracks, and caused him to peer over his shoulder. "Yes…?"

"Thank your, Professor Snape, for making that potion for me earlier. I doubt I would've gotten much sleep without it…" Ryou said, nodding his head to the man before him. Snape raised an eyebrow at this before turning back around. Both Ron and Hermione were staring at Ryou as if his hair had turned from white to neon green.

"I shall return with another portion then."

"Thank you, sir," Ryou responded. With that, the Potions Master left the room.

Headmaster Dumbledore looked over his new students, eyes bright. "Do you have any questions?"

Kaiba picked up his laptop from the table, holding it over his head. "I have a company to run. I need to have assurance that I can get access to the internet from Hogwarts."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, stroking his beard as he thought. He turned to him. "Electronics aren't compatible with magic, and at Hogwarts the saturation of magic would most certainly make your laptop nothing more than a paperweight." Kaiba's eyes darkened at this, but Dumbledore beat him to it. "However, there are people I know who… experiment with Muggle technology and cause it to run magically instead of electronically. If we could procure a laptop, we should be able to make it work in a few weeks, probably a week or so after school officially starts."

Kaiba frowned, resting his chin in his hand as he thought this over, before turning to the Headmaster and nodding.

"I'll buy the laptop- you just get it to work," the CEO said, and flipped open the device in his arms. "Do you have an address I can send it to, seeing as how I doubt any delivery would come to Twelve Grimmauld Place?"

Dumbledore chuckled at this, and nodded lightly. "Quite true. Just have it sent to Arabella Figg. She lives on Six Wisteria Walk in Little Whinging, Surrey. I'll handle the rest."

Kaiba was busily typing away at the laptop, ordering another one to be sent to the given address. It was to that sound that Ryou wrung his wrists and looked up at his new Headmaster.

"Headmaster…" Ryou began, drawing Dumbledore's attention. When he had it, he continued. "Who… who attacked the dig site? Do… do you know?"

All eyes snapped over to elderly man, and he exhaled softly, closing his eyes and bowing his head. When he looked up, the twinkle had disappeared, and in its place was an ache. Ryou, however, kept his gaze steady, brown eyes firm beneath the painful stare. Finally, Dumbledore spoke:

"Those men and woman were there to send a message to me." Ryou blinked a few times, but kept his eyes steady as the elderly man continued. "They wanted to show their power by hurting those closest to me- the Weasleys."

Ron stared down at his feet, face turning pale as thoughts of the attempt on his brother's life crossed his mind. Hermione squeezed his shoulder affectionately, offering him a smile. Ryou nodded quietly at this.

"I know… they… before they killed him…" Ryou whispered, dropping his eyes down, "they kept asking my father… where Bill Weasley was… and… he couldn't tell them… so they…" he trailed off, reaching over with his left arm and clutching his right, closing his eyes.

Dumbledore stepped forward, but Ryou ducked back, brown eyes opening and staring back at his calm blue ones. Ryou shook his head, straightening himself. "I'm… not looking for a hug, Headmaster," his words made the elderly man frown slightly, "I'm not looking for comfort. My father died. He was killed. I merely want to know who did it."

Dumbledore stared back at the white-haired teen, peering from behind half-moon spectacles. He sighed and nodded at the teen. "All of you should know. It's your right. Ryou, your father was murdered by agents of Lord Voldemort-" both Ron and Hermione flinched at the name, "called Death Eaters. Now, before you start asking me questions about these people, may I make a request?"

Ryou stood still, brown eyes peering from behind his white hair in such a way that both Yugi and Yami were instantly reminded of Yami Bakura. However, the mild-mannered teen nodded, leaning his head to the side slightly.

"Of course, Headmaster," he said softly, "these are your secrets to tell."

Dumbledore blinked at that, and smiled at him. "Thank you, Mister Bakura. Now, my request- please, take a night to recuperate and regain your strength. You have just been through a harrowing ordeal- this information can be given at any time."

Ryou paused for a second, but nodded nonetheless. "I understand," he said softly, looking down to the ground. Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Thank you," he said simply, coming forward and resting a hand on Ryou's left shoulder. "I won't be here first thing in the morning, but that should give you all enough time to visit Diagon Alley and gather your materials for the year. Once you return, I will answer the questions that I can."

Ryou simply nodded, looking up once more at the man. The Headmaster withdrew, turning around and smiling at Ron and Hermione. "I do believe that you both will be busy tomorrow cleaning?"

Ron and Hermione nodded, Ron frowning darkly. Hermione smiled softly at him. "We're here to show them where they are going to be sleeping, Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled. "Splendid! Then I shall leave you to it!" With that, the man walked away, his robes dancing swiftly on the ground. Ryou lifted his head up, but his eyes were narrow and staring at the carpet, deep in thought. Ron rubbed the side of his nose for a moment before clapping his hands together softly.

"Well," he began, "we'll show you where to go!"

Those in the room stared at one another for a moment before walking after the redhead and brunette. As they were led up the stairs to the second floor, Ron looked over his shoulder, grinning at the group.

"So, you're going to Hogwarts then?" Kaiba gave a grunt, while the rest nodded slightly, eyes looking over the dank walls. The freckled boy looked back towards the front. "Great! I'm sure you'll have loads of fun at Hogwarts. You won't believe your eyes."

The second floor remained had the same ugly color and stench as the first. Hermione paused halfway down the hall, gesturing to two doors on right side of the hall. She smiled slightly.

"This is where you will be sleeping. Only one of the rooms has a bunk beg and a twin, so three people will have to sleep in one, and two in the other."

Kaiba nodded. "Mokuba and I will be together, so whatever the rest of you losers decide will work," he grunted, a smirk played on his lips as he eyed the other three. Ron and Hermione's face were twisted into looks of shock and anger, but Yugi merely sighed before grabbing Marik's arm.

"Well, I'm bunking with Marik. Ryou, what about you?" the Pharaoh's hikari said. The tomb keeper said nothing- he'd been expecting the Pharaoh to stay with him. Mental duress could very well bring out the _worst_ in him…

Ryou flushed slightly, blinking down at his feet, wringing his hands slightly at the sudden inquiry. He blinked back up, brown eyes peaking behind white locks of hair.

"Oh… I don't… really mind…"

"Bunk with the Kaibas, Ryou," Marik suddenly called, diverting his eyes quietly from him. The albino blinked before nodding, a soft, understanding smile on his features.

"I understand. It's hard not to think about it when I see you, too," the soft-spoken teen said, and Marik gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks."

This exchange earned a couple of horrified looks from the adolescent wizard and witch. After several seconds of awkward silence, Kaiba cleared his throat and gave Hermione an annoyed stare.

"Our room is… what?" Kaiba drawled, blue eyes narrow. Hermione blinked at him before a blush came to her face.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. This one," she said as she threw open the door that was furthest down the hall. Kaiba grunted as he stepped past her, while Mokuba nodded briefly. Ryou paused as he entered, looking between the two.

"Um… I know you don't like him much, but… could you please tell Professor Snape where my room is? The Sleeping Draught, you know…" Ryou trailed off, pale face flushing quickly with color as his eyes went to the floor. Marik blinked from behind him, pausing as he was about to enter his own room.

"Yeah. Could you maybe ask if he has any of that… er… Slop of Peace or something?"

Hermione quickly nodded. Ron cleared his throat and gestured down the hall to a room at the end.

"That's were I'm staying, if you need anything…"

Yugi suddenly poked his head out of the room, his spiky hair nudging Marik out of the way. ("Careful! You'll skewer me!")

"Um… we don't have a change of clothes…"

"Not to worry, dears!" the cheerful voice of Molly Weasley sang as she came up the stairs, a stack of clothing in her arms. Moments later, the boys were each holding a change of clothes for the night, with promises that tomorrow morning they would have another set for them.

"We'll get you boys clothing, not that it'll matter much when you get to Hogwarts! Robes are required, as you should know!"

As she descended the stairs with Hermione and Ron following behind, another form ascended them. Severus Snape was holding two glass flasks in his hands, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Here. A Draught of Peace for Mister Ishtar-" the blonde eagerly took it from him, shifting the clothing to one arm as he admired the silver steam rising from it- "and a Sleeping Draught for Mister Bakura."

Ryou took it from him gently, bowing his head to him. Yami (invisible to the Professor) leaned over and whispered something into the Egyptian's ear. Marik suddenly started, and then nodded is head. "Thank you, Professor."

Snape turned around, waving his hand in dismissal. "Prove it in the classroom, boys."

With that, the five boys turned to their rooms, knowing that they had just started a brand new game in their lives, one which they weren't sure what the rules were.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES:** Um… another boring one, I think. The next chapter will be much better, since they have to go get wands and robes, things you can't just have someone else pick up for you.

_Also_: You can see me start to veer off Canon-Powers Street right now and onto Fanon Avenue. The Millennium Items were made to only harness the power of the Shadow Realm for Shadow Games and Shadow Games _alone._ However, I've decided to tack on the small additive- if these four individuals were also in possession of a bit of wizarding magic (maybe like that of a Squib originally, since Squibs can see Dementors and such, more than a Muggle at any rate), then would not these _magical_ Items act as a sort of _wand_ for _Shadow Magic_?

**POLL THE AUDIENCE:** Well, now that we know who is going to school… which House do _you_ think they'll end up in? I've already decided, but I'll just curious how my readers think it'll go.


	5. Magus, Invenio

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Thanks for the reviews, everyone! They really mean a lot to me. It's great to know that you guys really enjoy what I'm doing.

_Also_: It was requested that I translate the chapter titles for you guys, and thus, without further ado, I shall reveal them:

CHAPTER ONE: EXORDIUM, DESINO  
-_ Begin, Stop_

CHAPTER TWO: TRUCIDO, CELO  
- _Massacre, Hide_

CHAPTER THREE: ACERBUS, DEFICIO  
- _Gloomy, Failure_

CHAPTER FOUR: COADUNATIO, MAERO  
_- A gathering together, To Grieve_

They are Latin words. I use them because it's similar to the spells and such. From now on, the chapter titles will be translated at the end of the chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

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**CHAPTER FIVE:  
****MAGUS, INVENIO**

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"Everyone here? Gather together boys, we'll be off in a moment!" Mrs. Weasley chirped, and walked over to the bartender, talking animatedly with him.

Yami absentmindedly scratched at the maroon t-shirt that he was wearing at that moment, which matched his eyes almost perfectly. The maroon made the Puzzle hanging around his neck stick out several times more than usual- and that was saying something. He was wearing a pair of jeans that he assumed had at some point belonged to the youngest female Weasley- Ginny, he believed. Even so, he _still_ had to use a belt to keep the pants from falling down his lithe body. Yugi chuckled from his soul room.

/ Oh, quiet you. /

Noticing Yami's discomfort, Marik laughed at him, although his predicament wasn't much better. He was wearing a blue shirt with a distinct 'G' stamped on it, and a pair of jeans that were far too large around the waist as well. The Millennium Necklace hung around his neck. Two golden earrings dangled in the sunlight, and on his mostly bare arms were two golden bangles. Thankfully the 'G' was yellow- at least it looked like he'd tried to match. His lavender eyes were bright with laughter as he rounded on Ryou, pulling the teen tight to himself.

"Don't look so gloomy, Mister Fabulous!"

Ryou smiled back at him, and was wearing the matching t-shirt as well- blue, but with a large yellow 'F' on it. He, too, wore jeans too wide for his waist. Ryou, however, lacked any sort of jewelry, and besides from the Millennium Eye in his pocket, all his valuables were back in Domino. His doe eyes turned to Marik, closed, as he leaned his head to the side and smiled.

"Alright, Mister Gorgeous."

Kaiba, however, was dressed in a vivid orange t-shirt. He was the only one of the older students who had pants that fit decently. Kaiba's white trench coat covered most of him, but since it was cut off at the sleeves, most of his arms were still exposed. From a belt loop hung the Millennium Rod, but this was hidden from most prying eyes by his trench coat. Kaiba sneered at the Pharaoh's pouting.

"Not enough leather, Yugi?"

"There is _never_ enough leather," the sprit retorted automatically. Mokuba laughed from beside his older brother. The youngest Kaiba was fortunate- his shirt was simply grey. He had nothing else to wear with it, and the jeans that had been found for him fit perfectly.

Although that morning had begun with a quick gathering, trying to collect their thoughts on _what_ to ask Dumbledore, it had changed quickly. Getting to the Leaky Cauldron via Floo Powder had been an interesting feet, ("By Ra! You want me to do what?!" "What's the matter, _Yugi_- scared?" "I fear _nothing_, Kaiba!" "Prove it!" "When I'm ready!") but was accomplished with minimal injury, save for Yami's pride, for the spirit had landed hard on his rear, forcing him to waddle for a few minutes in a most un-royal fashion. Mrs. Weasley immediately began to march back, pulling her own wand from her clothes.

"Alright, after me!"

The group walked after her for awhile, before they ended up at a brick wall. Yami blinked at wall, maroon eyes narrow. Mokuba looked up at Kaiba, who returned his gaze. Marik eyed Ryou, but the albino was too engrossed by watching Molly Weasley tap the brick wall three times with her wand. Instantly, the tapped brick wiggled and slid back. The bricks immediately began to rearrange themselves, creating a hole in the wall. The hole grew larger- wider, fatter, taller- until it was a passageway. The wizarding world was finally exposed.

The group of five new wizards stared at the cobbled street before them, eyes wide and mouths open. Molly Weasley stood by with a small smile on her face. Yami took a few steps forward, peering around the busy street with wide maroon eyes. And then the rest moved forward, as if not to be outdone by the shortest member of their group (save for Mokuba, who was nearly attached to his brother's leg).

"Alright boys," Molly called, walking slightly ahead of them, "our first stop is at the wizarding bank, Gringotts." She turned to the tallest teen amongst them, her warm ginger eyes meeting his cold blue ones. "Are you sure that you're willing to pay the bill for this, Seto? I'm sure that we could-"

"Please. I've got it," he said gruffly, frowning at her. "And call me _Kaiba_."

It hadn't taken much convincing from Mokuba for the CEO to cave and lend some money out to the others. Yugi had felt that signing forms guaranteeing the full return of the funds lent _in triplicate_ had been a little much, however…

The five boys found themselves being watched by the people around them with the same sort of curiosity that they were peering at the robed people. To be fair, it was mostly Marik, Yami, and Ryou who were getting odd looks- white hair, tri-colored hair, and wearing absurd amounts of gold often had that effect.

"So," Ryou finally inquired, "we can get all of our things here?"

"Indeed, dear," Molly said with a smile, waddling close to him, "although there hasn't been a booklist sent yet- poor Albus has been have a horrid time getting a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor- so we won't be getting your textbooks just yet. Fortunately, we do have the old ones from the previous years, so you can study up on those while you stay."

"Oh, joy," Marik deadpanned nearby, turning his head to smirk at Ryou. The albino merely smiled back, but all eyes were suddenly caught by the snow-white building towering over the top of them. Kaiba and Mokuba were the first to get over the sight, and walked up the stairs.

"Hn. KaibaCorp is several times taller," was all the CEO said. Molly stared at the retreating form of Kaiba.

"Muggles can get buildings that high without magic?!" she gasped, turning on Ryou. The albino flushed instantly.

"Oh, um… yes. We… er… they manage quite well without magic."

Molly seemed quite impressed by that. "Well, those Muggles just surprise me everyday!"

Marik leaned over and whispered into Yami's ear as the woman trotted ahead, pulling Ryou with her, "Did she think we still live in _caves_ or something?"

"Just don't tell her you lived in my underground tomb for most of your life, or else she _will_ think that…" Yami responded. Marik chuckled at this, and the duo quickly made their way up the stairs.

By the time that Marik and Yami had pulled themselves in, Kaiba was already at the counter, eyes narrow as he held up a check book. He was talking with a short creature with large pointed ears over the countertop, its pointed face twisted into dislike.

"So you _do_ take Muggle checks," he said gruffly, blue eyes narrow. The creature sitting there frowned back at him.

"Yes," it said, dark eyes narrowing in return. Seeing the startled looks on the faces of her wards, Molly leaned over and whispered: "Goblins. Quite clever creatures, so don't stare."

Automatically the four boys found other things for their eyes to fall upon. Ryou managed to catch sight of words written on the second set of doors behind him- something he'd missed coming in. He stepped out the doors for a moment, smiling briefly to the two goblins standing watch at the door, and turned his eyes upon the poem inscribed on the two silver doors.

'_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
__Of what awaits the sin of greed  
__For those who take, but do not earn,  
__Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
__So if you seek beneath our floors  
__A treasure that was never yours,  
__Thief, you have been warned, beware  
__Of finding more than treasure there._'

Ryou felt a pang of remorse and horror in his chest, eyes widening at the words as he took two steps back, face paling. The two goblin raised eyebrows at him, but the albino merely smiled at their looks, walking forward and pushing back through the doors.

'_Sounds like something my yami would've liked to see…'_ Ryou found himself thinking bitterly as he rejoined Yugi (having regained control and was readjusting the belt on the pants, which were now far too large), Marik, and Mokuba by Mrs. Weasley. Kaiba was making his way over, holding up a large, bulging bag with a frown.

"If this doesn't get us what we need, I'll kill someone," he vowed in Japanese, and the four others nodded hastily. Mrs. Weasley took no notice, but hastened them along.

"Alright boys! Off to our first stop. I suggest going to get robes first, since those will take awhile before you can pick them up. Poor Madam Malkin… she'll be working awhile just our order!" Molly Weasley chortled as she rushed forward, leading the group through the street a few buildings down until they were led into another building.

Once the necessary measurements were taken for all five boys, which had taken awhile by itself, they were led out into the street. This time, their destination was a dinky cauldron shop just outside the initial entrance. Pewter pots were quickly acquired, and the group moved on to gathering their parchments, scales, and other assorted magical equipment from nearby stores. Once their cauldrons were filled with the items on the list, Molly paused in the middle of the street, staring down at a list in her hands.

"Well… it looks like the last few things to do is pick up your robes, your wands, and a pet, of course!" she said in a cheery voice, looking back at her gaggle of new students. Kaiba huffed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"That won't be necessary for me. I'm not an animal person," the CEO said stiffly.

Marik smirked at that, rolling back onto his heels. "He's not a people person either."

Kaiba glared back at the blonde teen, blue gaze cold and vicious. Marik flinched automatically, which caused Kaiba to smirk. Molly cleared her throat at this exchange.

"Now boys… anyone else not up for a pet?" she said, letting her eyes scan the group. Ryou gave a half-hearted shrug.

"If I see something… but I'm not planning on it…" there was a darkness behind his gaze, one that had lingered since they'd left the bank. Yugi smiled at him quietly, patting his shoulder. Ryou gave him a small smile before looking down at his feet. Mrs. Weasley smiled at him quietly, before she turned and motioned for the group to follow.

"Right then! I'll take you to Magical Menagerie, and then I'll go get your robes. It has the best selection of pets around. If any of you want an owl, we'll pick it up on the way back."

Once they were left to their own devices, the boys scattered around the pet store, except for Kaiba who stood watch over his brother and Ryou, who hung around by the door. Yugi and Marik eventually congregated at a basket of kittens that mewled up at them from their plastic enclosure. Ryou, too, eventually came by. Yugi pressed his hands against the glass, looking down at the creatures.

"Yami says that one of us should get a cat. I've already volunteered to get an owl for us all to share for mail, so…" his violet eyes twitched between the two people. Ryou smiled gently, but shook his head.

"That's alright, Yugi. I'm just… not ready," the boy said before looking at Marik, who was grinning widely at this opportunity.

"There is _no way_ Ishizu would turn away a cat!" he said gleefully, and pulled the two boys closer to the window. "Help me pick one out!"

After several minutes of consideration and inquiries made to the voice in Yugi's head, a rather large, blue-silver tabby Maine Coon kitten rested happily in Marik's free arm. The twelve-week-old kitten was already rather large- testimony to her breed's size. Bright green eyes blinked up at the Millennium Necklace that hung around Marik's neck and batted at it with large paws. Marik smiled.

"And cats are supposed to relieve stress, too," the Egyptian cooed to the kitten, earning a knowing smile from Ryou. Yugi blinked at the creature as it played.

"What are you going to name her?" the Puzzle holder questioned, and Marik frowned quietly, looking up. The kitten mewed and swatted again, managing to smack the Necklace and cause the teen to gag at the blow to the throat. He frowned at the bundle in his arm, which was clawing the blue shirt while trying to smack at his dangling earrings.

"Sekhmet," the teen said, holding his finger out to be attack, instead of his valuable jewelry. Ryou smiled at this, and Yugi leaned his head to the side, listening.

"The lioness Goddess of destruction. I think you've picked a good one," Yugi said quietly.

"Hey guys, look what I'm getting!"

The trio turned and stared at Mokuba, who had come over during their cooing and 'goo-gooing' over the kitten. Ryou's eyes bulged at the sight of what the youngest Kaiba had picked for his companion. Yugi and Marik both stared at it for several seconds. Even Sekhmet had stopped swatting Marik's finger to look. Ryou broke the silence first.

"What… is it?"

Mokuba hugged an enormous, lumpy, warty, purple creature to his chest, grinning from ear to ear at his choice. It smelled like bog water, and was slightly larger than the kitten Marik held in his arms, with large neon green eyes. Kaiba was standing behind him, a large plastic terrarium under one arm, his cauldron in the other. Mokuba seemed oblivious to the stares he was getting.

"She's a Tyrian Toad! Look at how pretty she is!"

"She?" Marik faintly said from behind Yugi. The tri-color-haired teen ignored the lavender-eyed teen, and smiled at Mokuba. "Oh, she's… really cool-looking. What's her name?"

"Heqet," the slate-eyed boy replied firmly, and scratched the massive toad under her chin. Her neon green eyes closed, and instead the creature's mouth opened, showing a mouth and tongue of the same hue. A drop of drool rolled from the creature's jowls, and Mokuba smiled again. "That's the Egyptian Goddess of childbirth," the eleven-year-old chirped before running over to the counter to inquire how to feed his new pet.

Marik slid over to Kaiba, who was frowning at them. "Kaiba," the blonde began, "why didn't you stop him? That thing looks like it could eat _him_!"

Kaiba glared at the other teen. "I _did_," Kaiba grumbled, "but Mokuba really liked that toad…"

They all piled their animal gear onto the counter- a few cat toys, some catnip, a collar, and bowls for Sekhmet, while Heqet had her terrarium, a few bottles of dead blowflies, and wristband for her name. Once Kaiba had paid for the items, Mrs. Weasley appeared as if she'd been waiting for them to finish. Her arms were overflowing with the five boys' robes, but she still managed to smile at them.

"Well, goodness me!" the woman said once she caught sight of Heqet. Once she saw Mokuba's proud face (and a warning stare from Kaiba), her look of disgust warped magically into one of joy, "That's an amazing creature! Good pick!"

The group made their way further down the street, passing five more buildings before they came to a stop. Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly.

"Ah! Ollivanders- the best place to get a wand! Now, in you go, boys!"

The group was quickly ushered inside (Ryou found himself wondering how everyone with all their things managed to fit inside the tiny place). Molly Weasley unceremoniously dumped the robes onto the single chair, exhaling heartily. She summoned up a table, which was quickly covered with overflowing cauldrons. Only Heqet and Shekhmet managed to escape being stacked.

Yugi moved forward quietly until he came to the large desk just before the rows of small boxes, violet eyes narrow as he looked the place over. Yami remained firmly in the Puzzle, but his eyes peered out through his hikari's.

/ There is a definite magic in the air, / the spirit said in a hushed tone through the mind-link. Yugi nodded slightly to this, turning around and peering at the shelves upon shelves of tiny boxes. "This place…" he murmured slightly.

"The magic is thick in the air," Ryou finished, coming up beside him, raising his head and peering around. Marik nodded from his spot by the Kaiba brothers. "I noticed as well," the blonde said softly. Kaiba gave an affirmative nod.

"That would be from the wands," a soft voice spoke. The group jumped, even Molly Weasley, who'd been preparing for it. A white haired man seemed to float from behind once of the shelves, his pale grey eyes staring down at the two teens who had stepped forward. Ryou immediately took a step back, eyes narrow and watching. Yugi blinked at him for a moment before nodding to him.

"Hello. I'm-"

"Yugi Mutou, transfer from Japan?" the man said. Yugi gulped, and nodded slightly. Yami stirred in the recesses of his mind, a feeling of nervousness overcoming both souls. The man smiled slightly at this, and immediately turned around, going to the shelves.

"I have yet to service a first-time wand to someone your age, Mister Mutou. And lucky me- I get four in one day. Single lifetimes are filled with too much mystery, are they not, Mister Mutou? Please, hold out your wand arm- your writing arm."

/ Yugi, I don't like him. / Yami hissed from his mind, and Yugi merely nodded, wondering if Mister Ollivander was merely babbling, or if he knew what he was talking about. Still, he held out his right hand, violet eyes trained upon the man.

Suddenly a tape measure leapt from a drawer of the desk, and began measuring Yugi of its own accord, earning and startled gasp from the short teen. The man began to pull a few boxes down from the shelves, talking softly, yet loud enough for all to hear.

"The wand chooses the wizard, you see. No two wands are made the same- their wood is drawn from separate trees, their cores from separate creatures. Some wands may have brothers, but none are the same. Just like people… just like souls."

He came back just as the tape measure was starting to measure the length of the Millennium Puzzle, ignoring Yugi's attempts to bat it away. Ollivander opened a box and pulled a long grey piece of wood from it.

"That'll do," and the tape measure dropped to the floor. "Now, Mister Mutou. Try this one. Vinewood and dragon heartstring. Twelve inches. Rigid. Just take it and give it a wave."

Yugi stared at the piece of wood before taking it. He flicked it slightly, but the wand was immediately removed from his grasp.

"No, not that. Here- ebony and phoenix feather. Seven and three-fourth inches. Springy."

Yugi whipped it, but it, too, was taken from him. Seven more wands were just as quickly given and taken before Ollivander was leaning on his desk, a frown on his face, but a gleeful twinkle in his eye.

"No, no… something's not quite right. You're different, hmmm… your magic is different. Or, at least, it's core." His silver eyes looked up at the spiky-haired teen, a creepy smile on his face. "Then… maybe we should try a different core?"

He moved from his desk and scurried to the back, leaving wands lying all over his desk. Moments later, he returned with a small crate of the wand boxes, but these were covered with a thick layer of dust. The man's lips were pulled into a strange smile.

"Ah… some of the old stock. If you would Mister Mutou- oak, chimera fang core. Eleven and a half inches. Bendy."

Yugi whipped the wand, and instantly it was snatched from his grasp. Ollivander smiled, placing it aside. "No, that would have been too easy… hmm…"

He paused, resting a hand on a box before opening it, pulling a grey wand from the box. Ollivander extended it to Yugi, smiling. "Hawthorne, sphinx bone-shard core. Ten inches. A little bendy."

Yugi pulled back to wave, and when he brought his hand down, a shower of red, maroon, and violet sparks rained down. Holding the wand gave Yugi a warm and tingly feeling, and he shivered pleasantly. Yami seemed content with the wand as well. Ollivander clasped his hands together.

"Wonderful! Now, you- Mister Ryou Bakura, if you would please," the silver-eyed man said as he gestured for the albino to come forward. Ryou did so after a moment, and held out his right arm, still wrapped in bandages. Ollivander eyed it quietly, but turned back to the boxes and he placed wands back into their correct casings. The tape measure at Ryou's feet leapt up and began to measure him.

Keeping the stack of 'odd wands' at the desk, Ollivander brought over a few boxes from the shelves. "And stop." The tape measure, which had been measuring _something_ under Ryou's shirt on his chest, fell to the floor in a heap once more. Ollivander held out a brown stick, which Ryou took gingerly, eyeing it.

"Beach, unicorn tail hair core. Fourteen inches. Swishy. Give it a go, boy!"

Ryou swung the wand, and a loud _crack!_ erupted from the tip of it, a puff of grey smoke lingering for several seconds. Mister Ollivander snatched the wand from Ryou, who'd gone quite pale at the noise.

"Nope! Sorry lad- such a bad reaction is always the storekeeper's fault. Maybe we should just skip to the oddities then?" Ollivander said, and Ryou nodded hastily, rubbing his right-hand fingers together. Ollivander pushed wands into Ryou's hands- "Ivy, erumpet horn." "Yew, griffon tail hair." "Ash, Yeti heartstring."- before he came upon a pale grey-brown wand, which he pulled from the box.

"Ah… vine wood, runespoor fang core. Twelve and a half inches. Rigid."

Ryou took the wand from him, and felt a tingle race up and down his spine, tickling the back of his mind. He whipped the wand through the air, and a shower of brown and green sparks cascaded through the air. It wasn't nearly as impressive as Yugi's had been, but Ryou was pleased all the same.

"Ah! You boys treat me. Mister Ishtar? If you would please extend your wand arm."

Marik handed Sekhmet off to Ryou and walked over to the counter, looking down at the tape measure. When Marik merely lifted his arm, the tape measure snapped to work, making the boy jump. Ollivander was putting wands back into their boxes and setting them aside. He was already fishing through the oddity-box.

"If my assumption is correct, Mister Ishtar, you and probably Mister Seto Kaiba will require a wand from this box. That's enough." The tape measure dropped to the floor, but Mister Ollivander peered up at Kaiba, who was leaning against the table. "Mister Seto Kaiba, maybe you should come forward and extend your wand arm. Get that out of the way."

As Kaiba stepped forward to be measured, Ollivander turned back to Marik. "Here, try this- cedar and ashwinder egg shell. Twelve and three-fourth inches. Firm."

Marik barely managed to twitch before the wand was snatched from his grasp. The lavender-eyed boy frowned at this, but another wand was shoved readily into his grasp.

"No- not that one… maybe _you_ would do well with this one: oak, chimera fang core. Eleven and a half inches. Bendy."

Marik swung it, and it was promptly removed from his grasp. This went on for twenty more minutes, until the oddity-box was nearly drained. Ollivander, once again, found himself leaning on his desk.

"Yes, you indeed need the core… but what about the wood…?" those silver eyes turned upon Marik, who was blinking down at him. For several seconds, Ollivander stared at the boy without blinking. Marik fidgeted, turning his eyes downward. Ollivander smiled slightly before disappearing into the back of the shop. Marik blinked after him and turned to shrug at Yugi and Ryou, who returned his shrug.

"Mister Ishtar," Ollivander said softly, causing Marik to jump at the suddenness of it. The white-haired man extended a black wand, which Marik took. Ollivander was smiling slightly.

"Elder, axex tail hair. Twelve and one-fourth inches. Slightly bendy."

Marik felt not only the tingle in his fingers, but also a soothing aura wash over him as he gripped the wand's handle. He brought down the wand to a shower of gold and silver sparks, earning a gleeful smile from Ollivander.

"Ah… it's been years since I sold an elder wand. Has quite a bit of lore behind them, those wands do. A bit of evil, and a bit of good. Quite interesting, wouldn't you say, Mister Ishtar?"

Marik paled slightly before retreating back to Ryou and Yugi, gingerly taking his Maine Coon from the white-haired teen. Kaiba, who'd been standing near the desk for quite some time, stared at Ollivander with a blank blue gaze. This seemed to please Ollivander further, and he simply thrust a wand at him.

"Come now, come now! Ash, hippocampus heartstring. Fourteen inches. Flexible."

The CEO whipped the wand through the air, and handed it back as Ollivander moved to snatch it. Ollivander smiled at him and stuck a wand into his grasp.

"Willow, firecrab shell. Seven and three-fourth inches. Stiff."

The brunette barely raised his hand when Ollivander took it from him, smiling almost smugly. "Alright, let me see… ah!"

The silver-eyed man pulled up a very pale- almost white- and thin wand. He held it out to Kaiba. "Ivy, bennu tail feather. Thirteen inches. Very flexible and whippy."

"I can see that…" Kaiba said, eyeing the wand blandly, but took it from the man anyway. A tingle started at his toes and rushed through him, making him frown and twitch slightly. Ignoring the sensation, he brought down the wand swiftly, a shower of orange and black sparks following behind it. Ollivander smiled at this.

"Wonderful! And the wand chooses yet again! Now, would Mister Mokuba Kaiba please step forward and raise his wand arm?"

Kaiba pocketed the wand swiftly, no second thoughts about it. He suddenly found himself with an armful of purple toad as Mokuba rushed by him. The creature eyed him lazily, and a dribble of drool rolled down her chin and onto his bare arms, making Kaiba frown.

Mokuba extended his right arm, and the tape measure went to work instantly. Ollivander quickly began to put the odd-cored wands back into their boxes, pausing every now and then to look at the youngest Kaiba. Once all the wands were back in their boxes, he nodded back to the boy.

"Good." The tape measure dropped to the ground. "Now… yew, phoenix tail feather. Thirteen inches. Whippy."

Mokuba swished the wand eagerly, but it was snatched from him immediately. Another was thrust at him. "Beachwood, unicorn hair. Eleven and three-fourth inches. Springy."

Mokuba swung that one as well, but it, too, was plucked from his hands. Finally, Ollivander brought forth another box. From it he pulled a very light brown, fine-grained wand. He held it out to Mokuba.

"White oak, unicorn hair. Twelve and one-fourth inches. Firm, but flexible."

Mokuba took it gingerly, his slate eyes looking down at the wand. A tingle of warmth sprang through him, starting at his finger tips and rushing down his arms and through his body. He smiled contentedly and swung the wand. A shower of white and blue sparks danced from the tip. Ollivander smiled happily, silver eyes glowing with a strange emotion.

"Ah- I must thank you boys for giving me a wonderful time. I've never been put through my paces like that. Glad to know I've still got it in me."

After Kaiba handed the man thirty-five Galleons, they left with parting waves. Molly Weasley exhaled, shuffling ahead of them and down the street.

"Just one more stop boys on the way out. Yugi, be sure to not take long, dear. I fear my arms may fall off!"

Eeylops Owl Emporium was amazing- filled with owls of all kinds. Molly, Mokuba, and Marik waited outside, not quite willing to risk bringing their respective loads within. Kaiba shuffled in, well aware that he was merely the money-carrier at the moment. Yugi quickly rushed over to the wall of caged owls. All of them hooted and twittered, large bulbous eyes staring down at them. Yugi looked around, violet eyes wide with excitement.

"Any of them look good?"

Ryou wandered the cages, looking at each in turn. He wasn't sure what he was looking for in an owl. He turned and peered over his shoulder. "You'd better get a strong one. Japan is very far away."

"Hmm… what about _this_ one?"

Kaiba was eyeing a particularly large bird with wide, orange eyes. Light tan feathers covered his underside, although his wings and back were dotted with black and darker browns. His talons and beak were black. Yugi looked up at him and, when he caught sight of the species tag, smiled brightly.

"He's perfect!"

Ryou and Kaiba blinked over at him. "Why?" the brown-eyed teen asked after a second. Yugi held up the tag for them to see.

"'Pharaoh eagle owl.' Native to Egypt," Yugi said with a bright twinkle in his eye. Kaiba exhaled, leaning his head back and rolling his eyes.

"Why does _everything_ have to relate back to Egypt…?" Kaiba turned around and stared at Yugi. "Does Egypt have an _owl_ god or goddess that I don't know about?"

Yugi grinned, but after a flash, the maroon-eyed Pharaoh stood before him, arms crossed. However, he let out a pained gasp and immediately went to his belt, loosening it. / Yugi! You forgot to loosen the belt! / the spirit said, coughing slightly. Kaiba was laughing loudly at Yami's discomfort.

"Oh yes," Yami snapped, eyes narrow, "it's hilarious when someone is struggling to breathe."

"I believe you were going to lecture me on something?" the CEO said stiffly, looking at Ryou, who was smothering his own laughter, out of the corner of his eye. Yami frowned at both of them, drawing himself to his full height once more.

"Yes I was. No, there are no owl gods or goddesses. However," Yami smirked, "there is a messenger god who happens to have the head of a bird. Convenient, yes?"

Five minutes later, and Yami was walking out of the store with his new owl Thoth, an annoyed Kaiba, and an amused Ryou following along behind. Marik admired this new purchase, careful to keep Sekhmet away from him, for the kitten was reaching out with her destructive paws to bat at the black iron cage and antagonize the creature that was far larger than herself.

"Thoth, huh? Good name. It suits him. God of wisdom. Think he'll bestow some upon us at school?"

Yami smirked at him and nodded. "That's what I'm hoping for."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, adjusting the large terrarium in his arms to a more comfortable position. "Are we leaving or what?" he snapped irritably, blue eyes narrow. Mokuba elbowed him. Molly Weasley, however, merely smiled at the teen for a minute.

"Oh, yes. This way!"

And the group paraded down the street, toward the Leaky Cauldron and the dreaded Floo Powder return. However, they knew it would all be worth it to just understand _why_ they were pulled so forcefully into this new world…

* * *

**AFTER NOTES: **I had a hard time writing this chapter for some reason (for that matter, the sixth chapter is coming along _agonizingly_ slowly). However, I'm quite pleased about how it turned out. And, yes- those are Weasley _T-Shirts_ that they are wearing. I assumed that when the Weasley children were younger, they were adorned in those t-shirts at some point.

_Also_: Kaiba's, Yugi's, and Marik's wand-cores all come from Egyptian mythological creatures. Ryou's is a creature from Africa.

_Also_: 'Tyrian Toads' are my own creation. Sort of. They're basically built upon the enormous purple toads mentioned in the third book. Tyrian Purple is a color royals during the Middle Ages only wore, so I just went with that. Oh, and speaking of those toads- am I the only one who'd buy a massive purple toad? I think it'd be absolutely adorable.

**CHAPTER TITLE: **MAGUS, INVENIO – _Magical, Discover_


	6. Scisco, Decerno

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I am so sorry! I had problems with getting my muse working for this chapter. I took the extra week to try and refocus, and this is what I have. Oh well.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX:  
****SCISCO, DECERNO**

* * *

_**Last Time**_: _The gang went shopping to Diagon Alley. After getting cauldrons, pets, and odd wands they returned to Grimmauld Place to get their questions answered._

* * *

After everyone had put their newly-bought magical equipment into their wardrobes and trunks (except for their wands- those remained on their persons), they gathered in Yugi and Marik's room, for it had more space due to having less people living in it. The room was adorned in dark colors- blacks and browns- with the occasional neon green trim here and there. Silver was also a main component to the room. The five boys had settled in the middle of the room, sitting on the dark brown carpet and staring at one another. Finally, Ryou broke the silence, clearing his throat to draw their attention to him.

"Alright," he began softly in Japanese, brown eyes narrow as he thought, "I want to make one thing clear: as we have secrets from them, do not pressure them to reveal all their secrets to us."

Marik's eyebrows shot into his blonde hairline, while the eldest Kaiba grunted, rolling his eyes. Yami frowned at him, and Ryou frowned back.

"I don't want to push their trust. If we don't ask for all of their secrets, ones that we have no right or need to know, then they can't ask us for ours. If anything, it'll force them to trade information with us," Ryou said, eyeing his companions. No one moved for a moment, then Yami sighed, turning and looking at the group around him.

"I believe this is a good plan, and Yugi agrees. However, I also believe we need to make sure that we don't give them any reason to ask us questions. Be discrete in your actions- no Shadow Games or Shadow Magic _unless it is absolutely necessary_," the Pharaoh hissed the last part. "Yugi and I have decided against separating into our spirit forms, for it wouldn't do any good. It drains our energy, and being caught staring off into space and talking to someone that isn't technically there would be too dangerous since these people can probably use magic to get around most locks."

Marik looked at the Pharaoh, absentmindedly petting Sekhmet in his lap. "This also means you two can't switch places whenever you want. Your eyes change color and you grow or shrink- these wizards look for odd things and won't be so quick as to just brush it off as nothing."

Yami growled at him, maroon eyes narrow. "We know that," the spirit snapped at him, "we've already talked about it. Yugi got the letter- Yugi will be in control. Unless he needs me," he added quickly on at the end. He then rested his chin on his hand.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at their antics, twisting the Millennium Rod in his fingers, partially unsheathing the blade before sheathing it once more. He then turned his attention on those around him, speaking, "According to Mrs. Weasley, us four will be going into the fifth year at Hogwarts. The same as Ron and Hermione. That means we have _four years_ worth of magic to catch up on. I don't care what the three of you dweebs do-" this earned a glare from Yami and Marik, while Ryou merely sighed- "but _I'm_ taking the month to study."

Marik frowned at this statement, rolling his head to look at Kaiba sideways, causing his blonde hair to dangle down and be immediately attacked by grey kitten paws. "Even if we do study, none of us are old enough to actually _do_ any sort of magic. Why bother?" the Egyptian said with a wince, and tried to detangled the Maine Coon from his hair.

"Because," Mokuba said, coming to his brother's aid, "you'll pick it up that much quicker when you get to school. That way you won't make a total ass of yourself."

"Mokuba," Kaiba said shortly, and his black-haired brother smiled sheepishly.

"Whoops- sorry about that," the slate-blue-eyed boy said quickly. Kaiba responded with a mere: "Hn…"

Marik nodded slowly, before leaning forward slightly. "Besides," the lavender-eyed teen said, remembering suddenly, "if we don't study they'll just make us clean."

All five teen winced at this revelation. Ryou didn't mind cleaning, but after hearing Ron complain that one of the dust bunnies under the cabinet had tried to bite his hand…

However, all thoughts of 'cleaning' and 'school' were rushed from their minds when suddenly the air and ground in the middle of their circle suddenly rippled. The five jumped to their feet, but Yami was instantly hissing: "Shadi!"

As if summoned, the turban-wearing Item-Bearer slid from the distortion on the floor. His pupil-less blue eyes stared at Yami, a frown on his stern face. The Millennium Key was hung around his neck, while he carried the Millennium Scale in his arms. His emotionless eyes scanned the room, falling on each of the Items displayed, and the trunk where the Ring was stored away. He turned his gaze upon Yami once more.

"Pharaoh, I sensed that the Items had changed possession. Is this of your own doing?" the space-distorter demanded in Egyptian, eyes narrowing. Yami frowned at him, nodding. Kaiba glowered, turning to Ryou.

"What's going on?" he demanded, eyes narrow. Ryou shrugged before looking at Marik, who was practically growling at the form before them.

"That's Shadi- guardian of the Millennium Items. He's here to make our lives a living hell, _after_ he makes sure that his Pharaoh is alright," Marik growled after a moment. Kaiba huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Figures. You'll translate for us, right? I don't like being talked about in a language I don't understand."

After Ryou and Marik gave assuring nods, Yami finally spoke to the blue-eyed Egyptian: "Yes, it is, Shadi. We are… embarking on another adventure. It became necessary to separate the Items once more."

Shadi did not look pleased. "Is not the power of the Millennium Puzzle 'Unity?' It makes no sense to separate them." Yami frowned.

"As long as the Items lie in the hands of my friends, then they are still united," the Pharaoh declared, taking a step toward the dual-Item barer. Shadi's blank eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is this wise, Pharaoh, to merely hand the Items to your one-time enemies?" he asked, looking pointedly at Kaiba before turning his gaze to Marik. Ryou, too, came under his scruteny. Kaiba rolled his eyes while Mokuba looked utterly offended for him. Ryou's gaze instantly dropped to the ground, knowing he _deserved_ that distrust. The blonde bristled at the implication and Sekhmet hissed in his arms at the man.

/ Yami… / Yugi began from his soul room, / I think you'd better say something… /

Yami frowned, glancing between the two Egyptians. / I'll handle it, Yugi. Don't worry. /

"I trust them with my life, Shadi," the spirit said simply, which made the tall Egyptian frown even more, while Marik and Ryou brightened. Kaiba merely rolled his eyes once more.

After Shadi showed no inclination to argue the point further, Yami continued, "This is a new magic, Shadi. And the Items react to it strangely- it practically repels it."

Shadi narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze away, as if thinking. He then turned back to Yami. "I can feel this Neo-Magic on all of you. I suppose this is partly why you are here?"

"We're going to Hogwarts- a school for the Neo-Magic," Ryou said, drawing the blank eyes to him. Shadi nodded.

"I see," he said simply, turning and staring at each of the five people in the room. "This house has many wards- it took me quite awhile to slip through them using the Millennium Key. You should be safe here because of them." Yami groaned, placing his face into a hand. He shook his head before looking back up at the intruder.

"Shadi, please do not come _here_ again- there are wizards in the house who might take your being here as some sort of sign that we are not as innocent as we say we are. If you must contact us, please wait until we get to Hogwarts. Until then, stay out of sight- these people who are after the Items kill without remorse," Yami said, eyes gliding over to where Ryou stood. The albino dropped his gaze, hands retreating to his pockets. Shadi frowned heavily for a moment, as if he was about to refuse, but then nodded stiffly.

"Fine, my Pharaoh. May I request that you not get you or your young host killed while you run around fixing this world of its problems?" the guardian said swiftly, but there was a strangely humorous note to his tone. Yami nodded, smirking slightly.

"I shall try to follow through. Now, please Shadi- keep safe."

With that said, the floor once more seemed to ripple, distort, and change. The dual-Item keeper nodded his head to the spirit of the Pharaoh, and sunk into the floor once more. There was a moment of silence before Kaiba growled low in his throat.

"Yami, you have the most bizarre friends."

"Does that include you, Kaiba?"

The CEO merely growled again. The five stood in silence before someone knocked on the door. Yami flinched before thrusting Yugi back into his body with a flash, and the boy stumbled slightly at the swift change. The door opened as he was regaining his footing. Ten eyes swung over to the doorway, spying Bill Weasley standing there. The redhead smiled softly at the group, trying to keep his eyes from Ryou's form. Ryou also averted his eyes, as if sensing the other man's discomfort. Finally, the blue-eyed man stepped backwards, spreading one arm towards the stairway.

"Dumbledore has arrived," he said quietly, "and he's waiting for you all in the kitchen."

There was a moment of silence before Yugi nodded, and moved forward, the others quickly falling in behind. Marik paused a second to place the grey kitten onto the floor before rushing after the group. The house was oddly quiet, although it was better that way: they had retuned from shopping to the bellowing screams of Mrs. Black before she had been pacified- not the best welcoming.

Bill Weasley finally led them back to the ground floor entry hall. The group of six paused outside a door at the far end of the hall, where Bill knocked tentatively on the door, and the group waited for a moment.

"Oh, yes- bring them in, Bill!" Molly Weasley's voice called. Yugi frowned, turning his eyes to the group. The message sent was obvious- this wasn't just going to be a one-on-one thing with Dumbledore. This was going to be a group effort. They were ushered through the door.

The room was as gloomy as the rest of the house, although it seemed more like a dungeon than the kitchen it was supposed to be. At the far end of the room a fire burned brightly, spreading light and warmth through the cold, stone room. Smoke rose upwards, where some was trapped by the ceiling, making the harmless pots and pans look more like weapons than cooking tools. In the middle of the room was a long table with many chairs pulled up to it, most of them occupied.

At the farthest end of the table, a pensive-looking Dumbledore sat. To his right was a greying brunette, who was looking at them with kind, brown eyes. Beside the grey-flecked man was a man with black hair and grey eyes, whose complexion was pale and drawn as if aged beyond his years. Further down that side of the table sat a young woman with vibrant, spiky pink hair, with dark, sparkling eyes. Next to her sat Professor Snape, whose dark eyes narrowed as the group entered.

To the left of Dumbledore was Mister Weasley, his blue gaze following the boys as they were ushered in. Next to Arthur was his wife, and next to her sat a strange man. He looked as though he'd fought with a lawnmower and lost- a piece of his nose was missing, and apparently at some point he'd lost an eye, for the left one was obviously magical in nature due to its electric-blue color and that it was spinning around, peering out the back of his head at one point. Bill quickly left the group to take the seat next to him, gesturing for the group of five to take a seat.

Yugi took the head of that end of the table automatically. Mokuba, by will of his brother, sat to Yugi's direct left and Kaiba took the seat next to the younger brother. Ryou sat the chair closest of Yugi's right and Marik took the spot next to him. The groups sat quietly, staring at one another for several seconds before Dumbledore finally straightened, and turned his twinkling blue eyes upon the group.

"Alright boys, I suppose you have questions for us. We'll answer as many as we can, safely. We won't tell you any lies, but we won't tell you everything. Is this acceptable?" the elderly man said, entwining his fingers in front of his face as he spoke. The group of foreigners turned and stared at one another, softly whispering in Japanese to one another before Yugi nodded to them and turned to face the group of wizards.

"As long as you give us that same privilege," he said swiftly, violet eyes scanning those at the table. Most of the wizards appeared scandalized, as if it was some sort of taboo to ask for respect in return. Kaiba frowned at this, blue eyes narrow as he turned to look at Marik. The Egyptian's upper lip twitched at this. Finally, the grey-eyed man snickered, earning everyone's attention.

"Well, they seem to have themselves put together. Tell me, have you often organized information exchanges?" the black-haired man said with a smirk. Kaiba's eyes narrowed at this, but he sneered at them.

"I'm the CEO of a company. It's my specialty."

That was all it took to send the white-faced man into a silent fit of laughter, nodding his head. The man beside him with soft brown eyes gave a small smile at this. "I believe it's only fair to have that particular rule spread around. With trust comes information, Albus."

Dumbledore looked at the man for several more seconds before nodding. "Remus has a point. We accept your terms."

Yugi brightened considerably, while Marik merely nodded and turned back to the Pharaoh's host. Yugi nodded, scanning his eyes over the group before stopping on Dumbledore.

"Can we have all of your names first?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly, nodding his head. "That shouldn't be a problem. I am Albus Dumbledore."

The man with kind eyes nodded slightly. "I am Remus Lupin." Beside him, the pale man grinned. "I'm Sirus Black." The pink-haired woman grinned brightly at them. "Hullo! Nymphadora Tonks, but you can just call me Tonks." Snape sneered at them. "You have my name already," he drawled, turning his black eyes away from them. On the other side of the table, the grey-haired, crazy-eyed man with a partial nose leaned forward, squinting at them, training his electric blue eye upon them. "Since you already know the Weasleys, I'll just introduce myself. I am Alastor Moody."

Sirius leaned over, a twinkle in his grey eyes. "Most of them just call him 'Mad-Eye Moody,' though."

'Mad-Eye' growled at this, which Sirus merely countered with a bright smile. Marik grinned widely at the exchange along with Yugi and Mokuba. Ryou managed a small smile, while Kaiba exhaled in annoyance. Yugi cleared his throat after a moment.

"Do you need us to introduce ourselves?" After a quick nod from some of the group members, Yugi placed a hand to his chest.

"I'm Yugi Mouto."

Mokuba smiled next to him. "I'm Mokuba Kaiba, and this is my big brother, Seto Kaiba." The elder Kaiba glowered at the group. "Call me Kaiba," he said shortly, eyes flashing.

Marik smirked at the teenaged CEO. "That's the binky-boy we all know and love." Kaiba's eyes narrowed at this, turning to glare at the blonde. "Call me that again…"

"And what? You'll _fire_ me?!" Marik chortled, but Yugi turned his sharp violet eyes upon the Egyptian. "Marik…" the teen said in warning. That was all he needed, and Marik frowned at him before turning back to the group of adults.

"Blah… I'm Marik Ishtar."

Ryou's face flushed automatically when all eyes turned upon him, and he dropped his gaze to the tabletop for a moment before he looked up once more. "I-I'm Ryou Bakura."

The table quickly exchanged smiles and nods before Dumbledore cleared his throat once more. "Before the inquisition, I'd like to say that I have notified your grandfather, Mister Mouto, and your sister and brother, Mister Ishtar. None of them seemed surprised to hear that you had found yourself in some sort of trouble. Does this sort of thing happen often?" Dumbledore inquired, a twinkle in his eyes.

Yugi sighed, leaning his chin on his hand and his elbow on the table. "If by 'this sort of thing' you mean 'someone trying to get the Millennium Items,' then yes- it happens _all_ the time." The group of teens looked collectively annoyed for several seconds, glares shot all around before a small smirk appeared on each face. Yugi looked over at Dumbledore.

"Um, sir? Would it be possible to get a hold of our friends back in Domino? There's some things I want from my house. Joey could get them and send them here," Yugi said. Ryou looked over at him.

"Do you think he could get some of my stuff?" the white-haired teen asked, and Yugi nodded. "I don't see a problem with that."

Dumbledore smiled. "Write them a letter and I will send it to the wizards I have patrolling there. From there, we can get your things from your friends."

Yugi brightened, and Ryou exhaled softly. Kaiba frowned. "I'll some of our things from our mansion. I'll send a letter to my staff, and they'll send it to your men."

"That will be fine," Dumbledore chuckled. "Now, what question would like to start with?"

The group of teens leaned into one another, whispering once more in Japanese. Finally, the pulled back and Yugi sat still at the front. "Who is this _'Voldemort'_?" he asked, and blinked at the response.

Once the name passed the short teen's lips, all of the magical adults, except Dumbledore, gave a mighty shudder, paling slightly. Marik snorted in laughter, turning his lavender eyes upon them. "What is _up_ with you people?"

Tonks flushed, the color reaching up to her hair, which instantly became flaming red, her dark eyes flashing. Marik made a mental note to ask_ how_ she did that. "We don't say his name- if you have to refer to him, say 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'"

Marik blinked at them quickly, raising an eyebrow. "You're _serious_ aren't you?"

Yugi, however, interrupted the oncoming argument. "Erasing a name doesn't erase the acts committed under it," he said softly, dropping his eyes to the table, "but don't harass them for it."

Marik immediately looked down, lavender eyes hidden by his hair. Once the group seemed to get over whatever it was that bothered them, Marik peaked through his blonde hair. "So… what did this guy do that would require his name being stricken from the language?"

Dumbledore leaned forward, blue eyes peering straight into Marik's, but the blonde swiftly looked away, chills running up and down his spine. The bespectacled man frowned at this. "He attempted to commit genocide of all humans that were not pure-blood wizards and witches."

Marik's eyes shot wide open, while Ryou gasped loudly. Yugi paled and his fingers twitched to the Puzzle automatically. Kaiba's frown deepened and his eyes narrowed into a glare. Mokuba's mouth dropped open before immediately squeaking: "Th-that sounds like the Nazis!"

Dumbledore sagely nodded while the other wizards and witches turned their confused gaze upon their leader. "It is a very similar case from the Muggle world," the white-haired man said. The others frowned, turning their eyes back to the group. Ryou finally regained his voice and looked at them quietly.

"You said 'attempted'- was he stopped? If so, then why is he still a threat at this time?" the brown-eyed albino said softly. Dumbledore turned his piercing gaze upon him.

"He attempted to kill off a family- a mother, a father, and their infant son. He managed to kill both the boy's mother and father," he said, and Ryou's eyes dropped to the side, paling once more. Dumbledore continued, "However, when he turned to kill the boy with a spell, it rebounded back at him. However, for some reason, it did not kill him but made him a mere shadow of a human. For fourteen or so years, he has existed as a half-being- one without form or shape, requiring to possess other creatures to survive. He has even possessed a human in his time- a most heinous act."

There was a sharp gasp from the other end of the table, and Dumbledore's eyes, which had been trailing off to space during the telling, snapped over to the group. While the wizards weren't sure why the gasp had come, those who knew about Yami did, and Marik quickly covered for Yugi by twisting his fingers agitatedly.

"S-so… people can really be _possessed_?! By ghosts and stuff?" Marik said, eyes wide. Dumbledore nodded, falling for the act.

"Yes, unfortunately," he said softly. Marik turned and stared in worry at Mokuba, who quickly took up the act.

"W-what can you do to prevent a possession? And… how do you _stop_ a possession?" the youngest Kaiba murmured, slate-blue eyes twitching from his brother to the members of the group. Moody frowned at them.

"There is nothing to prevent a possession besides _CONSTANT VIGILANCE_!" The cry caused all except Dumbledore to jump. Kaiba looked displeased. Mad-Eye Moody continued. "Nothing over the top for an exorcism, though. Potions and spells, mostly. The ghost is extracted and then banished to limbo- unable to interact with living, but incapable of moving on," the grey-haired man chortled. Yugi's face went several different shades of colors before it settled on pale tinged with green. Ryou patted his arm gently.

"No need to worry, Yugi. I doubt any ghosts would try to possess you anyway," the brown-eyed teen said softly. Marik leaned across the table towards the adults.

"Yugi's greatest fear is hurting the people he loves. Possession could lead to that, so…" the Egyptian turned his eyes back to Yugi, who'd regained some color in his face. The adults nodded somberly as Marik pulled back to his group. After taking a moment to gather themselves, Ryou turned back to the group.

"Um… from the way you are talking… I gather that Vol- … er… You-Know-Who has returned? How?"

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "While I will admit that Voldemort-" the adults shuddered- "has returned back to human form, I cannot say how."

Ryou nodded in understanding, before turning his gaze upon the people before him. "Who was the boy who stopped him?"

Dumbledore smiled softly, a twinkle gleaming in his eye. "Harry Potter."

The Weasleys seemed to pull themselves together, prideful as if they were this 'Harry Potter's' family. Snape, however, looked as though he'd been force-fed twelve lemons. Marik blinked after a moment.

"Right. Uhm… you mentioned Death Eaters last night. I take it these are Big-Bad's lackies?" the blonde said. Dumbledore nodded at this, and Ryou's gaze dropped to the floor, breathing stiffly. After Ryou regained his control, he turned back to the group.

"Why did they go after Bill? And why did they try to frame Egyptian extremists? From what you say, this 'You-Know-Who' sounds more like the kind of person to broadcast an attack," the white-haired youth said, scanning the crowd. Bill paled immediately, as did his parents. Dumbledore adjusted his glasses, sighing softly.

"They went after Bill because his family is heavily involved in stopping them. They thought it might scare them into stopping. I'm only sorry we didn't figure out that Bill's entire encampment was in danger," the blue-eyed man said softly, looking pointedly at Ryou. Ryou's eyes had fallen to the floor again, and his shoulders were tense. The Headmaster continued, "And as for their attempt at covering their tracks, it is because there are very few who believe us when we say he has returned," the older man said softly, the twinkle in his eye extinguished. Kaiba's eyes darted across the group, and saw that they were all preparing for the inevitable onslaught of accusations of lying. He smirked, earning a surprised look from those who were looking at him.

"Smear campaign? Sounds positively politician," the CEO said with a sneer. Marik rolled his eyes a smirk playing on his lips.

"It sounds more like you, 'He-Who-Denied-Magic's-Existance-Even-When-It-Danced-Naked-In-Front-Of-Him,'" Marik countered, his wicked grin falling from his face when Kaiba turned his most frosty glare on him. Marik shook it off before turning back to them.

"We already know that those wizards and witches weren't who they said they were. They incorrectly said what kind of tomb it was," Marik said, shrugging. Bill looked over at him. Marik continued, "They said it was a Pharaoh's tomb. I'd stake my life on it that it was a nobleman's tomb. An 'Egyptian extremist' would have known the difference."

Bill stared at him. "_You_ could tell the difference?" Marik blinked at him quietly, lavender eyes flashing with confusion.

"I thought you knew…?" was all he said before sighing and shaking his head, shrugging. "Language barriers. What can you do?"

Bill frowned at that, turning his eyes toward Dumbledore. However, before they had a chance to think that over, Mokuba jumped up suddenly. "Hey, wait a minute!" the eleven-year-old cried, "If no one believes that this guy is back, then that means that this a _secret_ resistance group, doesn't it?!"

The teens shared shocked looks before turning and staring at the adults. Dumbledore chuckled at them. "Yes, it is a resistance group by the name of the Order of the Phoenix. And, as you said, it is secret- so do not tell _anyone_ about it."

Yugi nodded, violet eyes bright. "Don't worry, Headmaster. You'll find that we keep secrets easily."

However, this did not seem to make the adults feel any better- their faces were slightly paler than normal and eyes looking from one to the other. Kaiba finally exhaled, turning to the others and eyeing them. Yugi gave him a brief nod, and the CEO laced his fingers in front of him.

"What can you tell us about Hogwarts?"

The change was immediate- gloomy faces brightened and became gleeful, as if they wanted nothing more than to tell countless tales of their childhoods. The Headmaster's eyes were bright and twinkling once more.

"Is their anything specific you'd like to know?" he said softly. Kaiba smirked at him.

"Alright- what are these 'Houses' that I've heard mentioned?"

It was the graying-brunette who answered this time. "There are four Houses at Hogwarts, which you are Sorted into on the first day there. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

Marik blinked, perking up at this. "Sorted? Like, we might be _separated_?" The Egyptian shot Yugi a strange look that the adults couldn't place. Remus smiled slightly.

"It's a possibility. You are Sorted based on aspects of your personality," Remus said softly, brown eyes looking over the group, "Gryffindors are known for being brave and chivalrous, although they have a tendency to rush into things without thinking things through."

Marik sneered, reaching over and ruffling Yugi's head quickly with a chuckle. "That _almost_ sounds like our King of Games, eh? Although that whole 'no plan' part's no good- Yugi's a true strategist."

Yugi flushed at the praise, but inside he could feel Yami glow warmly with it. He gave Marik a small smile. "Marik…"

"What? I give credit where credit is due!"

Yugi continued to blush fiercely. Remus chuckled. "Sometimes a House won't fit you perfectly, and that's okay. Anyway, Ravenclaw looks for wit, intelligence, and beauty. They have a tendency to have issues in making friends, however- too absorbed in their own work to socialize."

Marik's mouth opened, but Kaiba frowned at him. "Stop," was all the CEO said, pointing a finger at the lavender-eyed teen. Marik shrugged. "You just proved my point."

Remus shook his head at the antics, but continued on. "Hufflepuffs are… well, they take anyone who doesn't fit any place else. They like those who are dedicated and loyal. Those who value fair play and friendship."

Tonks grinned, waving a hand meekly. Her hair had turned black and her eyes a bright yellow. "I was a Hufflepuff, and they aren't all that bad. Really a friendly bunch, though."

Marik gave Yugi another sly grin, but Ryou finally chirped from the side: "It sounds like Téa."

At the mention of this name, Yugi's face flushed once more, but his violet eyes dropped slightly. "Uh, yeah…"

"Sounds like most of the dweeb patrol to me," Kaiba said offhandedly, but a sneer was placed firmly on his lips. Yugi frowned at him, eyes narrow, but Kaiba merely brushed it off. Mokuba bowed his head and snickered into his hands. Marik turned and frowned at the black-haired boy, a glint in his eye.

"I wouldn't snicker, Mister Kaiba. You're probably the most loyal person here."

Mokuba rolled his eyes at the teen. "I am what I am."

"Blah…"

"Anyway…" Remus said after a moment, shaking his head slightly, "the last House is Slytherin."

The looks on most faces darkened at the mention of this House, with the notable exclusion of Snape, Tonks, and Dumbledore. This split made the boys curious, and Mokuba looked over at them. "What's so bad about them?"

Snape merely smirked at the teens. "As the Head of the Slytherin House, I feel that _I_ should be the one to describe it to you. Slytherins are… seen in a negative light more often than not."

"Because most of the Dark wizards come from your House, _Snivelly_!" Sirius Black snapped, eyes narrow as he leaned around the now green-haired Nymphadora Tonks to sneer at the Potions Master. However, the green-haired Tonks became, once more, the _red_-haired Tonks and she spun around, eyes flaring into a golden-orange color.

"Hey! My _mother_ was a Slytherin! _She_ didn't turn into a murdering mistress, did she?!" the woman snarled, teeth jagged and sharp, causing the grey-eyed man to jerk back, flushing slightly.

"Well, uh…"

Tonks, however, wasn't finished. "And you _Gryffindors_ don't have the cleanest slate, huh, Siruis?" the flushed woman sniped, scanning her eyes across the whole table. While the Weasleys looked completely abashed Snape looked like the cat who killed the canary. Sirius cleared his throat and dropped his gaze, but his mouth remained firm and annoyed. Snape turned back to the group of young teens, black eyes scanning them.

"Anyway…" the Head-of-House said, "Slytherins are prided on their ambition, cleverness, cunning, determination, and self-preservation."

Marik grinned, reaching around Ryou to poke Yugi in the side. "_There's_ our Yugi!"

Yugi blushed again, dipping his head slightly once Kaiba gave a half-hearted shrug before saying, "It makes sense, I suppose. From what we've heard, I'd guess Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff at any rate. It'll be interesting to see you Sorted."

Ryou chanced the brunette a small smile. "You would do well in Slytherin, Kaiba. Ambition and cunning? It's practically describing you."

Snape sneered at them as they conversed. "I'd be surprised to see _any_ of you in my House. Slytherins are also judged on how 'pure' their bloodline is. As muggle-borns, you probably won't make it in."

Kaiba shrugged dismissively before turning to the Potions Master, his blue gaze carefully blank. "Maybe we should move on? How are we going to be catching up with our classmates?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly at him. "That is a good question Mister Seto Kaiba. You cannot just take up the same schooling as your yearmates. Instead, you shall completing tests of the skills you need to gain from each of the classes for all four years. Be sure to look through the school books from the past years for your classes, and once Christmas comes you should be caught up as possible."

Once Dumbledore had stopped speaking, the lilac-eyed teen turned, blinking. "Hey," Marik began, "what classes are there? Any electives?"

Dumbledore smiled warmly at this, placing his hands into his lap as he leaned slightly forward. "There are seven mandatory classes," he began, "and five elective courses. The core classes are Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Those you have to take. You four, however," he said, gesturing to the older teens, "must take at least two of the electives: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, or Muggle Studies. Here, I have some information on each of the classes."

With a wave of this wand, four booklets outlining each of the electives appeared before the older teens. Mokuba peered at his brother's copy before turning his eyes to the adults. They seemed to be waiting for something, and Dumbledore finally spoke: "Do you mind if we ask _you_ a few questions?"

Yugi had been expecting this, and shook his head slowly. "No, go ahead."

Moody leaned forward, far too eagerly for the violet-eyed boy's tastes. "So," the scar-faced man said finally, "what exactly are those Items? And where did you get them?"

Yugi smiled, peering down at his Puzzle. "The Items are ancient Egyptian artifacts. They were made, from what little we've learned, about five thousand years ago. This," Yugi reached down and lifted the inverted Puzzle up, "is the Millennium Puzzle, and my Grandfather found it while on a dig in Egypt. It was disassembled and in a box when it finally made it to me when I was seven years old. It took me eight years to put it together."

Ryou pulled the Millennium Eye from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him. "That's the Millennium Eye. I got it while competing in a Card Tournament in Japan. I won it off of a man there."

"Won it?" Arthur Weasley said, raising a eyebrow as he looked over the small orb. Yugi looked at Ryou, and the albino offered a small smile as he looked at it, but there was a glimmer of disgust in those brown eyes.

"Yes, won it."

Marik cleared his throat, tugging at the torque around his neck. "This is the Millennium Necklace. This, and the Millennium Rod that Kaiba has-" the CEO lifted the Rod up and shook it slightly before placing it back in his lap- "have been passed down in my family for generations. That's how I got them."

When the boys went silent, Dumbledore leaned over the table a bit more. "I thought there were five?" he asked, his eyes scanning the boys. The teens turned towards each other. Ryou was frowning slightly, eyes dropping slightly. Yugi turned and looked at the older man.

"The last one is the Millennium Ring. It used to belong to Ryou, whose _father_ sent it to him. He's asked that I keep it safe," was all the teen had to say before the adults dropped their gazes, sufficiently silenced about it. After a moment Bill looked up once more.

"Well, what do they do? I mean, I saw that Eye stop a Killing Curse. I saw _shadows_ form a shield. What more can they do?"

Ryou picked up the Eye and fingered it as he spoke. "We still don't know a lot about Shadow Magic besides the fact that it exists. I've _never_ made a shield before. I've never had the chance to deflect a spell before. We know that they have magic, and we know that they're picky with who they choose to hold them. That's about it."

"'Picky?' Are you saying that these Items are sentient?" Snape asked, looking doubtfully at the Puzzle hanging from Yugi's neck. Yugi flushed.

"N-no, but they don't take just anyone. It's like wands- the wands choose the wizard. The Items are just a bit more choosey."

"Yet," Snape began, "we see that the Rod and the Necklace are fine with the two boys while before they were in your possession. Explain?"

/ Tell them that because they can both wield Shadow Magic, they can both use the Items. No need to go into reincarnations now, / Yami supplied helpfully, and Yugi nodded slightly.

"Well, they both can use Shadow Magic. Thus, the Items are willing to go with them," Yugi said simply. Dumbledore nodded while Snape glowered. Tonks looked over at them, hair turning the same golden color as the Items.

"Well, how many are there? Dumbledore said there were seven, but how can you be sure?"

Yugi stiffened, looking at the others before shrugging slightly at them. "Really, we don't know for sure. We've only heard that there are seven, and have no reason to believe that there are any more."

Marik shrugged at the frowns on the faces of those around him. "Really, trust us on this. There are seven. No more, no less."

While they didn't appear to find their words reassuring, the adults settled and began to murmur amongst themselves. Mokuba blinked before yawning loudly, earning a frown from his older brother. Snape sneered at the younger boy before turning to the Headmaster.

"Albus," Snape began, drawing the twinkling blue eyes to him, "may I suggest we allow ourselves to digest this information? Anything else they want to learn about Hogwarts can be quickly dealt with by any of the adults or, if they truly are desperate, they could ask the students. And we can ask questions as we see fit."

The group looked at one another before Yugi spoke up, "That'd be fine. We could look over the classes and tell you what we'd like to do."

The Headmaster smiled, nodding his head joyfully. "Then it's settled!" he said, "I must be heading back to Hogwarts to handle some business, but I should be back in a few days if you have further questions that no one can answer."

Marik jumped from his seat, stretching and cracking his back. Mokuba merely turned his gaze to the adults, each who were rising to their feet and starting to move from the room. Bill shuffled forward, grinning slightly as he gestured for them to him.

"I'll take you back to your rooms. You can look over everything there. Don't mind what Snape said- if you have questions Hermione is one of the best to answer them."

Yugi nodded, smiling at him. The group fell into step behind him, thumbing through the information in the packets. Kaiba was already making dog ears on some of the pages as he flipped through them. Marik chuckled slightly.

"Well, I'm not taking Muggle Studies. We already have to catch up on four years of stuff. … Anyone know where to find those books?"

Bill smirked at them. "Again, Hermione will be the one to ask. Also, if you want more information, there's a library in here somewhere. I haven't been here enough to find it myself, but Hermione probably has. She's a muggle-born too, so you should really try to talk with her."

Yugi nodded, and the group came to a pause outside the two doors of their bedrooms. Yugi smiled at the eldest Weasley child. "Bill," he said, "if you see Hermione, could you send her our way if she isn't busy? We'll probably be holed up here for awhile, reading this stuff anyway."

Bill smiled, nodding as he turned and left. Yugi ushered the group back into his room, closing the door exhaling as he leaned against it. "That was not fun," he murmured, violet eyes darting to the chest. Ryou nodded, turning his attention to Yugi.

"You know that they won't leave the Ring be just because it's a… 'momento' from my father, right?" the brown-eyed albino asked. Yugi nodded.

"Yeah, but it'll keep them busy for a few weeks," he said. "By then maybe we'll find something to say."

Marik, oblivious to the conversation, picked his head up from the book. "I think that Ancient Runes looks like it might be pretty cool! Along with the Magical Creatures one."

"No Divination?" Kaiba said with a sneer. "You do have the Millennium Necklace."

"Shut up, _Binky-boy_. If I want a vision, I'll ask for it. No stupid glass balls for me. Or Arithmancy. Magical Math? Ugh…"

Yugi walked over beside him, blinking at the choices. "I'm with you there. I think Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes sounds like fun. What about you two?"

Ryou picked his head up from the book after a moment. "I'll probably go with those two as well, along with 'Magical Math'. It says you can be a Curse Breaker in Egypt with good enough qualifications."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I'll go with those three as well. I'm not relearning everything I already know about and I'm _not_ taking a class to learn about the future. Nothing is written in stone."

"Especially when it comes to the Items," Yugi murmured after a moment. There was a pause, then a knock sounded from the door. Ryou set the book down, walking over and opening the door.

"Oh, hello Hermione," the white-haired boy said, and disappeared outside for a moment. He then reappeared, pulling with him a large, heavy trunk with Hermione's assistance.

"Bill told me you were in need of my past books. There are a few others in there as well, should you need some supplementary reading," she said, panting, as the two pushed the trunk to a stop a few feet from the door. She smiled, straightening herself out before clasping her hands in front of her. "I'll leave you to it, then. If you need me, I'm in the library right now, dusting with Ron and the other Weasley boys. So, see you around?"

Yugi smiled brightly, standing up and starting towards the trunk. "Thanks so much, Hermione! We'll be sure to take care of your books. And we'll find you if we need help, deffinately!"

With that, the brunette waved one last time before leaving once more. As Ryou closed the door, Yugi opened the trunk. He squeaked at the sight of the carefully stacked books. Yai gazed through his eyes to find out what had startled his hikari. The yami started.

/ How… did she get so many into the trunk? / he asked in awe. Yugi shook his head, mentally and physically.

/ I don't know… maybe it was a spell or something… the trunk should be a lot heavier… /

Kaiba frowned, peering at all of the books. He picked one up, and once it cleared the trunk it grew larger in his grasp. The CEO sighed. "This… is going to take awhile."

Marik winced. "That's just a _slight_ understatement."

Mokuba chuckled from the other side of the room. "Glad I'm not doing any crunch-time studying!"

"No, you'll just be cleaning," Marik snapped back, glowering at the books. Mokuba frowned while Ryou stepped forward.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" the teen asked faintly. No one could answer him, and no one was expected to.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES:** Eh… well, it's done. Either next chapter or the one after should have Harry's arrival. One angsty, angry teen plus five strange people, four of whom can perform a questionably dark magic? I hope my muse can pull itself together for _that_.

**CHAPTER TITLE: **SCISCO, DECERNO** --**_Investigate, To Decide_


	7. Turbo, Tempestas

STORY SUMMERY: It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had b

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Alright- back onto the 'Wednesday deliverance of chapters' again! Quick shout out- Nachtnelke, thanks for the quick info on the Latin. Trust me, it's due to a lack of any sort of Latin knowledge from which sprouts my ignorance instead of a laziness to fix it. If anyone could point of a website that gives good or decent definitions, that'd be really great. Otherwise I'll putter along with what I have.

_Also_: _Skakkanin_ is Japanese for _tenant._

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this. There is a bit of direct quoting that occurs in this chapter and that _definitely_ belongs to JK Rowling.

--

**CHAPTER SEVEN:  
****TURBO, TEMPESTAS**

--

_**Last Time**_**:** _Their questions are answered, they've picked their classes, and they've got a mountain of books to look through thanks to Hermione._

--

From the Sunday that the group arrived to the following Monday, Grimmauld Place was as peaceful as could be- the four teenaged boys spent most of their time in Yugi and Marik's room, studying the mountain of texts that Hermione had bewitched to fit into a trunk that should have been full a library and a half ago. Mokuba, however, had cleaning duties to perform with the rest of those living in the house. Despite his lack of cleaning knowledge ("When you have people to clean for you, you don't really learn to do it yourself."), he quickly befriended the rest of the Weasleys.

The Order seemed to go out of its way to make sure all of the teens were well cared for, as if to make up for the lack of information coming from their end. Not that it appeased the teens who were busy cleaning most of the day. They whined down the hall in front of their door, interrupting the studying occurring within as they looked over the railing just beyond Yugi's doorway.

"It's unfair! _We've_ got just as much right to know as the rest of them!"

"Yeah… too bad Mum binned all Fred and George's Extendable Ears…"

"Acutally, I think they saved some."

"Really?!"

After the first few times, Kaiba stuck his head out and threatened them bodily harm, with or without magic. They quickly learned to complain about the unfairness of life in softer tones. Overall, life wasn't too bad once the foreign group was able to send letters to their loved ones about necessities. It was going well. It was going _too_ well.

It was late at night on Monday, August second when everything went to Hell in a hen basket.

--

Yugi leaned over the letter that Joey had sent, smiling and snickering at random intervals. A package of clothing and a box of puzzles and games were sitting next to him. With a happy sigh, he folded the letter and tugged a piece of parchment from beside him, and started to scribble on it with a quill. Marik sighed, setting his own quill down and shaking out his hand.

"I'm never going to get used to writing with this thing," the blonde whined. "I'll always prefer the slight _squish_ of my mechanical pencil."

Kaiba rolled his eyes as he typed on his laptop. "Hn. Pens get much more use in this day and age. Well, in the _Muggle_ world, anyway. Fortunately for you, Marik," Kaiba continued in a sardonic tone, looking up to seer at the Egyptian, "they, too, have a _'squish'_ on them."

Marik grumbled unhappily, scribbling in quicker strokes on the parchment. Ryou softly chuckled from his corner, where he was shuffling through his deck. His right arm was without bandages once more, and long, dark scars raced up towards the elbow. He turned his doe eyes to the Kaiba, who blinked at his computer screen for a few moments. The white-haired teen looked then towards the door. He turned back to the group.

"Where's Mokuba? It's getting late."

Kaiba's brow furrowed, and he leaned forward to look at the clock on his laptop. "It's almost nine-thirty. Where is he-"

There were a series of loud cracks and _pops_, and people were yelling. There was a stampede of footsteps, and then something crashed below them. Their door slammed open, Mokuba standing there, face flushed slightly. "Everyone's going crazy! Something happened to that Harry kid!"

The four teens were on their feet in an instant, papers flying everywhere. They rushed out of the room, stopping at the railing to peer down at the chaos at the base of the stairs. People were darting in and out of the kitchen and other rooms, shouting at one another.

"_FILTH! Witches and wizards not fit to lick the scum from my fathers' boots! Traitors to the Lord! Mudbloods of all sorts and shapes and sizes and colors! Leave my house or pay the consequences!!"_

Mrs. Black quickly decided to join the noise with her crashing screams and wails, and Remus Lupin rushed from the kitchen to silence her. The group of foreign wizards watched as the portrait was once more covered, with the extra help from Tonks, and then the people calmed themselves, the noise level dropping swiftly. Marik's mouth dropped open and he looked around at the floor below.

"By Apophis, what in the _world_ is going on?!"

"Apparently, Harry managed to find the _only_ two dementors in Surrey."

The group of five started, jerking around to stare at form of Fred and George as they held the end of one of their few Extendable Ears. Fred grinned slightly at them and began to reel in the Ear, and Marik blinked at them.

"What's a 'dementor?'"

George looked smug, waving his had slightly as he spoke. "It's a Dark Creature- it sucks the happiness from your body and makes you relive your worst memories."

"Nasty little buggers, they are."

"Right you are, Fred. And if one Kisses you-"

"-It'll suck out your soul!"

The twins cackled evilly, yet softly as to not disturb the portrait below. Marik, Yugi, and Ryou looked over at Mokuba and Kaiba who were frowning at the memory of having their souls removed as well. George waved his hand at them, dispersing the conversation.

"Anyway, after Harry drove them off with the Patronus Charm-"

"-He dragged his lumpy cousin back to his house and safety-"

"-Only to get expelled from Hogwarts and told-"

"-They were coming to snap his wand."

"Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore took off out of here in an instant-"

"-And now they're holding a trial for him."

After they're eyes resettled from playing ping-pong with the twins' voices, the five foreigners turned to look at one another. Kaiba glowered.

"They're disregarding one of their own laws if they expel him," Kaiba said suddenly, crossing his arms and leaning on the railing again. "However, seeing as this smear campaign is as bad as it is, I wouldn't doubt them to at least try it."

Ryou stared blankly over the banister. "That's horrible," was all he murmured after a moment. Suddenly, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all came running up the stairs, Molly's voice carrying after them.

"-And if I catch you trying to hide in the kitchen again, I'll make you clean the third floor bathroom by yourselves with _Muggle_ cleaning supplies!"

The group of seven already at the top of the stairs fled from the railing, staying out of the indignant mother's sight. The trio quickly rushed over to them, pale and frowning.

"Alright," Ron said swiftly, rounding on George or Fred, "what'd you find out?"

As if waiting for their cue, the twins once again began to ping-pong their sentences back and forth. Those who'd heard it already dropped their gaze to the floor to avoid the nausea. Once the retelling was over, Hermione straightened herself, turning around to look at Yugi.

"Do you mind if I dig through my trunk to find a few books? I'd like to research on the laws in order to give Harry some notes. Not that he'd need them- it's completely _ridiculous_ what they're doing- but it'll make him feel better."

Yugi smiled, scratching the back of his head and began to lead the brunet towards his shared bedroom. "Um, no problem. We've been looking through the first and second year books all week and taking our own notes, so the rest of your books should be still where you had them."

Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose and caught up alongside them. "I took a law book from inside, however. Let me find that one for you while you dig for what you need."

Marik sighed, leaning backwards and rubbing his forehead. Ryou leaned his head slightly to the side, while the others merely turned their attention to him. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked after a minute. Marik turned his lavender gaze upon her.

"You _do_ realize that we're all going to be dragged by Hermione and Yugi into looking up _every single law_ to help Pooter out, right?"

Ron flushed angrily, and Ginny snickered slightly, which was echoed by the twins behind her. Marik blinked. "What?"

Ron frowned. "You said _'Pooter.'_ It's Harry _Potter_."

Ryou stifled a giggle, earning a dark look from Marik. "Yeah, well… sorry. Well, let's get over there. Maybe we can recruit Kaiba into keeping us from the search-"

"Hey guys!" Yugi called from the bedroom door, his tri-color-haired head poking from around the door, "We need your help! It won't take long with all of us working, so c'mon!"

Marik exhaled loudly, and the twins quickly babbled what sounded like an excuse before Apparating away. Ginny glared at the spot where they had stood last, before storming towards the doorway, Ryou and Marik trailing slowly behind.

--

That Friday evening, the sixth, found Yugi and the others buried into their textbooks and notes, but it was becoming harder and harder to concentrate. The noise level oft eh front hall had risen to where Mrs. Black had been disturbed twice in the past three hours. If that were not enough, the voices of the vexed teenagers were loudly pouring through their door. Growling, Kaiba rose from his spot on Yugi's bed, closing the laptop with a loud _click!_ Marik looked over at him with a sigh.

"Don't kill them, Kaiba. They've been good all week."

The CEO glared at the blonde before turning to the door. "I won't," he snapped, "I'm just curious as to _what_ is going on this time that'll make the weasels panic."

"Kaiba!" Yugi admonished, but only succeeded in extracting a sneer from the brunet. Sighing, he put the Astronomy book he had been reading down and rose to his feet, cracking his back. Ryou blinked over his Ancient Runes book for a moment before sliding a bookmark into it and closing it. Marik tossed his Herbology book onto his bed and groaned.

"Alright, let's go check it out. Maybe Mokuba can tell us what's going on."

Marik walked over to the door, opening it and peaking out and looked both ways before opening it wider and leaving, the other three following. In front of the railing just outside their door were the other teens of the house. Ginny was crouched down, peering through the banisters, holding an extendable ear as best she could over the heads of the people below. She turned, speaking softly to the teens kneeling beside her.

"Alright, well, it sounds like they're just waiting for Harry to arrive. They were seen flying a few towns over, so unless Mad-Eye decides to double-back a few more times, they'll be here in about ten minutes," the youngest Weasley finished, pulling up the Extendable Ear as the group beneath them began to disperse.

"About bloody time!" Ron finally hissed, rising to his feet and turning around, coming face to face with Marik. The redhead stifled a shriek and jumped backward, almost trouncing on Hermione's hand. She gasped and flailed, striking Ginny, who fumbled with the Extendable Ear and almost dropped it. The twins were snickering loudly, and Marik merely raised and eyebrow.

"When you're trying to be sneaky," the lavender-eyed teen quipped, "you should try being _silent._"

Ron frowned, but Ryou was the one who jabbed him in the side with his elbow, giving the Egyptian a sharp look. Marik frowned and looked away while Ryou turned back to the group.

"So, Potter will be coming then? Were you able to get anything for his trial?" the white-haired teen asked. Hermione brightened and nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, I found so much about the laws of our society that I think we can come up with a great defense for him," she said with a slightly smug face. She whirled around, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him towards his bedroom. "C'mon Ron. I want you to help me organize the papers one last time so Harry won't have to worry about it."

The youngest male redhead stumbled after her, murmuring an unnecessary affirmative to her 'request.' As they disappeared behind the door, George turned to Yugi and gave him a small smirk. "Hey, listen," he began, "Harry is a good kid, but he's had it rough the past few years."

"So if he seems a bit… ireful-" Fred picked up the hanging sentence.

"-Don't spend much time thinking about it-" George continued.

"-'Cause he doesn't mean it," Fred finished.

Ginny cleared her throat slightly, drawing the attention of all the boys gathered. "He's always had a bit of a temper, but Headmaster Dumbledore has kept him completely out of the loop. He lives with Muggles who aren't the kindest to him. He'd rather be here and he's bound to be jealous of us, and especially you. You _just_ learn about the magical world and you're rushed to his Godfather's house. Harry doesn't even know you're here yet because we couldn't tell him through the mail."

Marik struck his forehead with his palm. "This is going to be an interesting dinner…"

Yugi quickly took over that line of thought. "I hope he isn't too-"

Yugi paused in mid sentence, blinking a few times before rubbing his forehead. Marik placed a hand to his temple, itching at a spot. Ryou scratched the bridge of his nose. Kaiba's nose merely twitched, although it was obvious that something was bothering him, too. Fred leaned forward, as if inspecting them.

"What's wrong with you lot?" he asked. Yugi pointed to the doorway below.

"There's a strong presence of Neo-Magic approaching. We're getting used to it, but it kinda tingles when a bunch of wizards arrive here at once, because of all the magic concentrated in this one house. It gave us headaches at first," the violet-eyed teen said with a wince. Fred and George grinned at one another while Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes.

"That would probably be Harry and his guard," the young female redhead said, a small smirk on her lips. "But, man, it's going to suck for you at Hogwarts. That place is filled with… what did you call it? _Neo_-Magic? Anyway, Hogwarts is saturated with 'neo-magic.'"

Ryou frowned slightly, turning around and looking at Yugi. Yugi merely sighed and looked over at the twins and their sister. "I'm going to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore about it. See what he thinks we can do."

Any further conversation was put on hold when suddenly the door swept open, and the group of eight ducked back. However, it was only Professor Snape, and he ducked immediately down the hallway, where the gathering men and woman quickly followed after, not even whispering to one another as they made their way towards the kitchen. Fred poked his head over the railing, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that greasy git doing here now?" he asked after a moment. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Obviously, he's giving a report to the Order. I wonder if we can listen in…" her ginger eyes narrowed and she slowly slunk down the stairway and towards her bedroom.

The twins raised an eyebrow at one another before turning to Yugi. "Well, if she wants to have a listen, we'll have to scrounge up an Extendable Ear, so we'll take our leave now."

With two loud cracks, the twins Disapparated away and left the group standing at the railing. Mokuba leaned forward, peering at the front hall before he turned and looked at Kaiba.

"Do you really think that Harry Potter's going to be ticked off?" the blue-violet eyed boy asked softly.

However, before the boys could respond, the front door opened, and the presence of the Neo-Magic increased, no longer distilled by the main wards, crashed into the Shadow mages. Yugi's head pounded suddenly, and he swayed in shock, forcing Yami to take control. Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose while Ryou and Marik gritted their teeth and blinked a bit. Mokuba looked on in concern, and then Pharaoh sighed, turning to his friends.

"Alright, everyone into the bedroom," Yami commanded, marching everyone forward, even though he, too, was wincing and pupils shrinking to small circles in his maroon eyes. He closed the door and walked away from it, plopping onto his bed and staring at a spot on the wall. Marik collapsed onto his bed, groaning in annoyance. Mokuba looked over at him, picking up a book from the floor.

"Is it really that bad?" the eleven-year-old asked doubtfully. Marik turned and looked at him for a moment before pushing his face back into his pillow.

"It isn't _horrible_, per se, but I won't be able to concentrate with this. I hope dinner starts soon- maybe we can ask for a sleeping potion so we can just go to bed," the blonde mumbled into his pillow. Sekhmet walked over to him and lay down next to his head, as if sensing his discomfort. The lavender-eyed teen began to pet the Maine Coon kitten.

Ryou sat at the edge of his bed, knees pulled up to his chest. He looked over at Marik, sighing softly. "It wasn't bad in Diagon Alley… much more space…"

As their headaches slowly ebbed away, someone was walking up the stairs and toward their bedroom. A strong sense of neo-magic followed the presence, and Yami winced as the person paused outside the door, and then exhaled as they continued on. Yami rubbed his temples. Mokuba, who had been peering through one of the first-year books, had stopped to watch Yami's expression. Concerned, he walked over to the spirit.

"You and Yugi okay?" he asked quietly in Japanese, having hung around the twins and their Extendable Ears long enough to know to not leave anything to chance. He placed a hand on Yami's shoulder and smiled at him.

Yami looked up at the boy before patting his hand softly. "We're fine," he responded likewise in Japanese, "it's just… with two minds and two separate magical presences in one body… things tend to get a bit more painful."

Mokuba gave his shoulder a sympathetic squeeze before walking over to where Kaiba had taken a seat on one of the trunks and plopped down on the ground next to him, picking up another book to look through. There was a comfortable silence that reined through the room as the Item holders relaxed.

And then a bomb went off that sounded an awful lot like a screamming teenaged boy.

"**SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG BEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU?! YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER!" **_(1)_

The angry tones continued, causing Kaiba to stiffen automatically, his blue eye twitching slightly. Sekhmet hissed, fleeing from her spot and darting under Marik's bed, much to his annoyance. Thoth gave an angry hoot, flapping his wings as he perched on the top of his cage. Ryou looked between the door and Yami.

"Is that…?" he whispered, the raging still going on in the background. Yami nodded, his eyes also on the door.

"Harry Potter," he murmured. Kaiba growled softly, rubbing the bridge of his nose, turning his glare around the room.

"If he doesn't stop, I'm going to make him stop."

Marik looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "He knows how to hex you into a blob. Do you really want to mess with that?"

Kaiba stared back at him. "I've faced worse. Besides, he isn't allowed to use magic, just like us."

"Yeah, but _you _should know that rage makes you insane. Insane people don't care about laws," Marik chirped, and Kaiba threw a paperback book at him. He caught it, and stuck his tongue out at the CEO. Kaiba rolled his eyes at him, and growled when more screams reverberated through their walls.

"**FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK AT PIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS**-**" **_(2)_

Ryou sighed, leaning on his elbows onto his knees as he stared dully at the carpet before reaching down and grabbing at the Defense Against the Dark Arts book by Quentin Trimble, _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_. Marik peaked over his shoulder, blinking down at the page he was reading.

"This stuff is right up your alley, right Ryou? You were always into the occult-type stuff. At least… that's what… uh… _he_ said once," the blonde paled instantly ducking back and dropping his gaze, wincing. Ryou looked at Marik out of the corner of his eye. He sighed, closing the book around his forefinger.

"Yes, I've always been fond of occult-type stuff. Don't look so sheepish, Marik. Shakkanin-" he arched his eyebrows to let Marik know who he was talking about- "won't ruin the occult for me. Something far more powerful makes it a good memory. My mother was just as into it as I was," Ryou said, a soft smile lighting his face. He grinned quietly at his friends, who had stopped and turned to look at him. "It was one of the few things that I shared just with my mother. My sister, Amane, was more into technology and such and didn't like magic and myth. I'm sure you would have liked her, Kaiba."

Kaiba rolled his eyes at him. "I'm sure," he said with a sneer and turned away to grab his laptop.

Mokuba, however, dropped his gaze, thinking. He then frowned, eyeing the white-haired teen. "I've never heard you talk about them before now. Where are they?"

Ryou paled suddenly, dropping his gaze to the floor. He slipped his finger from the book and set the text aside, avoiding their gazes for several long moments. Suddenly, Kaiba realized _why_ Ryou never said anything about them, and his mouth went dry.

"They… died when I was nine," Ryou softly whispered at last, clutching his hands together and squeezing his eyes shut. "They're buried in Exeter, where my grandparents lived." He chuckled sadly, lifting his gaze slightly, showing a pair of dark brown eyes. "Father is being cremated and his ashes spread over the deserts of Egypt."

Having exchanged places with this yami, Yugi slid forward, almost leaving his bed before Ryou shook his head slightly. "I'm okay. It was a long time ago."

"But," Yugi began, head tilting slightly to the side, "what about your father? That was just over a week ago."

Ryou blinked a few times before shrugging slightly, a dark glint to his usually innocent eyes. "I… don't really know how to feel about his death. I really don't feel… anything."

Yami jolted in his soul-room in shock, and Yugi resisted the temptation to make sure that the Millennium Ring was still safely stowed away in his trunk.

Marik, however, chuckled beside the brown-eyed teen, his lavender eyes also dark. "I know how you feel Ryou. My mother died when I was young, and it devastated our family. But when my father died… I couldn't bring myself to care so much, no matter how much my sister did."

Kaiba managed to look uncomfortable, but Mokuba frowned, looking down and ignoring the feeling of Kaiba's eyes on his back. "Mom died in childbirth with me," the black-haired boy said after a moment, "and Dad died in a car crash a few years later. I didn't know Mom them well enough to mourn her, but Dad was always so… distant with us that it was hard to."

Kaiba cleared his throat and looked down at him, and Mokuba looked over at his brother and smiled slightly. The rest of their tale was not his to share, and Seto would tell it on _his_ terms and no one else's.

Yugi sighed, placing his chin into his hands. "My father travels all around the world, so I don't see much of him. Mom goes with him, but she comes back more often. But really, it's just me and Grandpa. I'm sure that I'd feel _something_ if Dad died, though."

Ryou looked over at him quietly, as if measuring him with his soft eyes. "I'm glad for you, Yugi," he said at last, "because that means you care about him."

The silence that followed was awkward and uncomfortable, each person quietly groping for some sort of book to distract them from it. It was a few minutes later that the necessary distraction arrived in the form of Mrs. Weasley knocking on their door.

"Boys?" she called, and Mokuba rushed to the door, opening it with a smile.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," he said. The ginger-eyed woman smiled at him and nodded back to him.

"Hello, Mokuba. Boys, dinner is ready now if you'd like to make your way to the kitchen. I'll be down behind you in a moment. I just have to get everyone else," she said with a smile, moving to turn. She stopped mid-step, looking back at them. "Oh, and be careful where you tread. _Someone_ left a bunch of dungbombs around the kitchen door. I think I grabbed them all, but do take care."

She vanished a moment later, and Mokuba turned to the group of teens behind him. Yugi sighed, standing up. "Well," the shortest teen said after a second, "we've got to go meet Harry sometime. Let's get down there before he does, though, so we can avoid an awkward meeting on the stairs."

They five of them began to descend the stairs, just as a greasy-haired, hook-nosed man left the kitchen, grumbling under his breath. Yugi's eyes brightened and he paused halfway down the stairs.

"Professor Snape, sir!" the crazy-haired teen called, managing to stop the man before he could leave. The group rushed down the stairs to get to him. The black-eyed man merely glared at them.

"What is it?" he snapped, his mood sour. Yugi flushed, smiling meekly.

"Sorry sir, but we were wondering if you could send word to Headmaster Dumbledore that we really need to speak with him about the shadow magic," Yugi said quickly. Marik came to a stop beside him, resting his elbow on Yugi's shoulder.

"Yeah, it has a strange reaction to the neo-magic. We figured that putting that in a letter wasn't exactly intelligent," the blonde said. Kaiba kicked his shin, eliciting a sharp yelp from the Egyptian before the blonde remembered to squeak out, "Oh, yeah: _sir_."

Snape rolled his eyes before glowering at the group. "I will give word to the Headmaster," the man said, but continued in a more dangerous tone, "but do not expect me to give him any more messages. Any of the other adults have little to do and would _gladly_ function as human-sized owls for you."

Ryou smiled softly at him, bowing his head to the man. "Thank you, sir. We won't bother you with any others."

"See that you don't," the Professor snapped before storming down the hall. Yugi watched him go, exhaling.

/ He is the most unpleasant person, Yami, / the hikari said to the spirit of the Puzzle, clutching the artifact in his hands. He felt the Pharaoh stir within his mind.

/ Don't worry about him, / Yami said quickly, / he's your Professor, so don't give him any reason to dislike you. /

Yugi smiled at the golden pyramid, but was startled out of it when he was bumped into and sent stumbling towards the door. A few more wizards and witches had gathered into the hallway, and the teens found themselves pushed against the wall nearest to the screaming portrait of Mrs. Black. Yugi placed a finger to his lips, and the others nodded quickly. After a moment, the crowd moved towards the door, and left quickly and efficiently. Lupin and Tonks began to seal the door's many locks and bolts, throwing a ward or two on the door just to be safe.

The group of five tiptoed away from the portrait, where Yugi exhaled softly before turning and watching as Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George made their way down the stairs. Standing with Hermione and Ron, however, was a dark, messy-haired teen with vibrant green eyes partially obscured by a pair of glasses. He looked rather scrawny beneath his baggy clothing, although Yugi knew that appearances truly meant nothing.

After ushering the last Order member through the door, Mrs. Weasley finally seemed to notice that the teens had all gathered in the front hall. "Oh, there you all are. We're eating in the kitchen, so-"

_CRASH!_

Ryou gasped, spinning around to see Tonks lying on the floor, legs tangled in the troll-foot-turned-umbrella-stand. Tonks began to apologize profusely, but it fell upon deaf ears, for all sounds were suddenly blocked by the curtains across from Ryou parting with a _snap_, exposing a yellowing, old woman whose face was drawn and eyes rolling as she screamed and screamed. This then caused the rest of the portraits to wake up and begin to scream as well.

Mokuba clamped his hands over his ears while Kaiba strode forward with the air of someone on a mission. After waiting a moment Marik marched forward, trailing a few paces behind. As they latched onto one set of curtains and Remus Lupin grabbed the other, Molly spun around, stunning the other portraits to stop their screams. The portrait turned her rolling eyes upon them and shrieked in outrage.

"_Horrible mudbloods from across the sea! Bringing your filth and disgrace with you! You are worthless! Nothing but insects in a world of men!"_

Kaiba growled at her, blue eyes narrow as he fought with Marik to close the curtain. "This coming from an animated portrait of a _dead woman_!" the CEO snarled.

With those words, the portrait screamed, if possible, louder. Kaiba merely smirked while Marik rolled his eyes, an amused spark to their lavender depths.

Suddenly, Lupin was joined by another man- Sirius Black. The black-haired man snarled at the portrait. "God, can you just _shut up_?!"

The witch turned upon him and looked even more angry and bloodthirsty. Her face paled quickly and drool began to pour from her mouth like she was some sort of rabid dog.

"_Yoooou! Disgrace of my fathers! Failure of the family! You dare come before me!!"_

Sirius growled, and nodded to Remus before turning to the two teens. Marik nodded and Kaiba jerked his head in what could be called a nod. Sirius then turned back to his mother's portrait.

"Just-shut-_UP_!" he roared, and the four of them pulled at once, slamming the curtains closed. Mrs. Black's screams died away as Kaiba looked down at his hands, frowning.

"I'm going to have to wash my hands," he murmured. Marik stared, too, at his hands before turning to the curtains, as if to inspect just _how_ dirty they actually were. Sirius smirked at them.

"Well, thanks for the help," he said with a grin, brushing the hair from his face. Kaiba gave a curt nod while Marik flashed a grin.

"No problem!" the Egyptian said, giving him a thumbs-up. He then looked back at his hands, wrinkling his nose slightly. "Uh… I'll just go visit the sink in the kitchen for a moment." He began to walk towards the kitchen. Kaiba nodded once more as he turned to follow, but Marik glanced over his shoulder, sneering.

"Coming, _binky-boy_?"

Kaiba growled, glaring fiercely at the back of the blonde's head before walking forward, his usual confident stride in place that caused the end of his black robe to kick up and billow behind him. The two disappeared through the door to the kitchen, leaving Yugi, Ryou, and Mokuba behind in the hall. Yugi grinned weakly as the rest of the teens quickly descended the rest of the stairs. The twins walked over to where the three had gathered. Fred was grinning from ear-to-ear while George was smirking.

"'_Binky-boy?_'" Fred snorted, brown eyes practically glowing with a wicked light. Yugi winced as he smiled, scratching the back of his head as he did.

"Yeah… binky-boy…" the blonde-banged teen said. George chuckled as gestured for the trio to follow him.

"C'mon- we'll introduce you to Harry," he said. Fred and George walked forward, leading a reluctant Yugi, a curious Mokuba, and a quiet Ryou to where the others had stopped to speak with Sirius. Fred loudly cleared his throat, hooking arms with his twins as they shielded Yugi, Mokuba, and Ryou from sight.

"Howdy there Harry," George said with a smirk, and the green-eyed boy turned and looked over at them.

"Hello George, Fred. What're you up to?" the black-haired boy said, raising an eyebrow at their antics.

Fred cheekily looked offended, turning to look at George, whose expression was just as outraged.

"Why, Harry!" the offended twin called, "We're up to nothing! We just thought you'd be interested in meeting a few new students for Hogwarts!"

Harry's eyebrows rose, looking at Hermione and Ron out of the corner of his eye. Ron winced and Hermione fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Ron met his gaze. "Sorry, mate. Forgot to mention that…"

Harry frowned at him, but George wasn't about to let the mood go sour.

"Well then, here they are!" he cried, and the twins leapt apart, exposing the trio of foreigners. Harry's eyes instantly were stuck on Yugi's mess of abnormal hair, and then slowly trailed over the other two. Fred grinned.

"Harry, this is Yugi Mutou and Mokuba Kaiba," the twin said, gesturing from the spiky-haired teen to the similar-sized black-haired boy, "and they come _all_ the way from Japan."

Harry's eyes widened and his eyebrows disappeared beneath his tangled mess of black hair. George set a hand on Ryou's shoulder, earning a weak smile from the white-haired boy. "This is Ryou Bakura. He's also from Japan, but we found him in Egypt."

Harry's eyes widened once more, but then his eyebrows furrowed, as if trying to remember something. Ryou chose to ignore this, and flushed slightly, but bowed his head to Harry. "Pleasure to meet you, Mister Potter."

The twins snorted in laughter while Sirius let out a barking laugh. Harry shook his head. "Just call me 'Harry.' I get enough of that from my Professors."

Ryou smiled, nodding. "Harry it is."

Fred gestured towards the kitchen. "The other two you saw-"

"-The blonde and binky-boy -" George cut in.

"-Were Marik Ishtar-"

"-The blonde-"

"-And Seto Kaiba-."

"-Binky-boy."

"But don't call him 'Seto-'"

"-Or he'll sue you-"

"-Or something equally nasty."

Once George and Fred were done ping-ponging sentences, Harry blinked a few times, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Ah… right…"

"Don't worry, mate!" Fred proclaimed, instantly at his left side and clutching his shoulder.

"We'll get you straightened out in a jiffy!" George affirmed, suddenly at Harry's other shoulder and holding on just as hard. Harry was then led into the kitchen, the two twins 'helping' him learn the differences between the five newest arrivals. Ginny stifled a giggle at their antics, her ginger eyes bright, while Sirius shook his head slowly.

As Ryou entered the kitchen, he was firstly aware that it was far livelier and less dungeon-esque when there was actual food and people working in it. Kaiba and Marik had vacated to a corner, watching the goings-on through the smoke and chaos. Ryou nodded to them, and all five immediately scattered, dong what they could to assist in the process.

It was five minutes later when everyone had finally gathered at the table. As they had every night since their first visit into the kitchen, the group of five settled at the far end of the table. They tried not to listen to the other conversations, and bowed their heads together to visit amongst themselves.

"Well, Harry seems like a very nice guy," Yugi said finally.

"I'm sure it's just frustration that made him act like that earlier," Ryou said after a moment, watching the steam rise from a spoonful of stew. "I doubt he'll erupt like that again."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, but kept his voice emotionless. "We'll see," he uttered after a moment.

Mokuba frowned at him and poked his brother's side, making the CEO choke uncharacteristically on a mouthful of stew. Yugi snickered, although he could feel Yami rolling with laughter on the floor of his soul room. The teen had to keep himself from doing just that, and reached over and patted the glaring brunet on the back. Marik gave the younger Kaiba thumbs-up.

"_Nice_, Mokuba!" the blonde said between bursts. The blue-violet eyed boy smiled weakly before turning to his smoldering brother.

"Sorry, Seto. Didn't mean to make you choke," he said as he tugged gently on the oldest Kaiba's sleeve. Kaiba sighed before frowning at him.

"Just don't do it again," Kaiba grumped, turning back to his stew. However, even he smirked slightly when Fred mouthed to Mokuba: "Do it again!"

The meal trailed on, and a few helpings of desert later found that Marik and Ryou had traded seats. Ryou was piling up the dishes of his friends on top of his own. Kaiba was sitting stiffly, but his eyes were trained on Mokuba who was talking animatedly with Yugi and Marik. Ryou pushed the plates towards the center of the table before settling back in his chair, pulling out his Duel Monster's deck and began to rifle through the cards.

Ryou had restructured his deck three times since his father's murder, but he couldn't get the feeling that it was missing something from it. Some cards from his yami's deck had made their way into it- Dark Necrofear was wound into it and Ryou couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. The Change of Heart was definitely in there as well, as it was his favorite card and a useful thing to have. Plucking them from the deck, he inspected both of the cards in his hand. Both had the ability to take over an opponent's monster. The Dark Necrofear, however, had to first be destroyed for it to happen. Ryou placed the cards back into his deck before putting that back into his pocket. He closed his eyes and sighed, allowing his head to drop to his chest, reveling in the silence.

"It feels like we should head to bed soon," Mrs. Weasley's voice broke through to Ryou's mind. He opened his brown eyes and glanced over at her, only to find her gaze on him, concern written across her features. The white-haired teen resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at her, and instead sat up straighter, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Hold on, Molly," Sirius said softly, pushing his plate away. His grey eyes turned upon his godson. "Harry, I was sure that you'd've asked about what we know about Voldemort."

Everyone tensed at the table, even those who had strayed away to converse. Fred and George flinched before leaning around to stare at the Boy-Who-Lived. Ginny paused from her playing with Crookshanks on the floor to watch as well. Ron and Hermione both snapped around, eyes wide with fear that Harry might explode once more. The wizard adults glanced around, looking for someone to stop the conversation before it began.

Marik's eyes gained an inquisitive gleam to them, while Yugi fidgeted in his seat, looking around. Ryou paled swiftly, clutching his hands together under the table. Mokuba settled back into his seat while glancing from the adult to his brother. Kaiba was the only one to look completely unflustered at the turn of events.

Harry, after a moment of silence, frowned and glared at his plate. "Actually, Sirius, I _did_," the black-haired teen said with a soft yet dangerous tone, "but no one I talked to had answers. Only Order members can know. Only Order members are _trusted_ to know…"

The injured tone in his voice made Mrs. Weasley pale several shades and turn her eyes away, her retort dying on the tip of her tongue. After a moment, she turned back to his slumped form. "It… it isn't that we don't trust you, dear…" she said softly.

Harry raised his shockingly green eyes from his plate and turned them onto her, asking her, pleading her to tell him _why_. Mrs. Weasley looked around for assistance before sighing.

"Dumbledore doesn't want you to know more than you need to, Harry, dear."

Harry dropped his gaze once more, and Molly feared she may have said the wrong thing. Finally, Harry spoke, his voice carefully dull and his eyes still hidden. "So… it's just Headmaster Dumbledore who doesn't trust me. Good to know."

Molly paled even more, and shook her head swiftly, fearfully. "No, no! Harry, that's not it. Not it at all! He just doesn't want to burden you, I'm sure. But… I… I guess we could let you ask some questions…"

She trailed off, looking at her husband who nodded back at her, a small grim smile on his face. Lupin nodded before turning to the other teens in the room.

"Alright, Molly. Harry can stay. What about the rest of them?"

Mrs. Weasley frowned, staring at her children who were staring back at her with defiant eyes. Mister Weasley leaned forward in his chair slightly. "Well, Fred and George of off age now, so we really can't stop them from staying…"

Fred and George grinned at one another, sticking their tongues out at Ron and Hermione. They reclined in their chairs, and Mrs. Weasley gained a bit more color in her face.

"Yes, fine. But Ron and Hermione-"

Harry lifted his head slightly, a strange look in his eyes. "You know I'll just tell them everything you say here, anyway."

Mrs. Weasley flushed slightly at this, while Sirius was obviously trying to keep from laughing. She rounded on Ginny, who stared back at her. For several moments, no one made a noise. Then Mrs. Weasley exhaled.

"Fine! Everyone stays!" she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at Sirius, who smiled cheekily at her.

"Uh… even us, Mrs. Weasley?"

All eyes snapped over to where Yugi was sitting, violet eyes wide and staring. He fidgeted quietly, scanning them all. He flushed, ducking his head slightly. "We don't have to stay, ma'am," he said quickly, "if it makes you uncomfortable…"

Mrs. Weasley was at a loss and turned from person to person before Lupin frowned at them. "How's this: we tell you what we know about Voldemort's-" a shudder ran through the group once more- "plans for your Items. After that, you leave. Is that alright?"

Harry had a bewildered expression on his face. Yugi looked at the four teens around him, gathering their expressions before turning back and nodding. "Yeah, that's fine."

Harry blinked a moment. "Wait- Items? What does Voldemort want with these guys?"

Lupin sighed, leaning back and looking at Ryou specifically, who merely returned his gaze evenly for a moment. Marik paled, squeezing Ryou's shoulder in concern, but Ryou merely smiled at him slightly. The white-haired teen finally turned to Harry, twining his fingers in front of him.

"You know that Bill Weasley's encampment in Egypt was attacked a few days ago, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "the _Daily Prophet_ said it was some Egyptian wizards who'd had enough. Everyone there was killed, except for two teens…" his eyes grew wide and darted down to Ryou's scarred right arm and back to his eyes.

Ryou nodded slowly when Harry made the connection. "Both Marik and I were there during the attack. But they weren't Egyptian wizards. The Order informed us that they were Death Eaters who were out for Bill's blood. Fortunately, I suppose, they only managed to get everyone else's there. I doubt they would have let anyone live, even if he had been there."

Ryou's eyes darted to the stack of plates in the middle of the table, staring for several moments before turning back to Harry. "When they attacked me, I used a Millennium Item- an ancient Egyptian magic item that allows its wielder to control the shadows. It absorbed the spell they cast… mostly," he said, holding up his right arm to inspect the lines on it. "But the Death Eaters saw its abilities, so it was only a matter of time before they decided that the Items were a more succulent prize."

Yugi quickly took over. "There are seven Items, and we have five of them. The other two are safe enough where they are. We're here because we apparently have your kind of magic as well as Shadow Magic. Except for Mokuba- he's just a wizard."

Harry stared at the tabletop for several seconds before he turned to Ryou, eyes slightly narrow. "They… killed your father, didn't they?"

Ryou stiffened slightly at the question, but relaxed immediately after. "Yes," he said with a nod, looking into those green eyes. Harry fell back against his chair, paler than before. Ryou smiled slightly at him before Marik cleared his throat, drawing the attention to him.

"That's the basics. You can ask Mister Weasley or, really, anyone here for more information," the blonde said swiftly. "I kinda want to know what Dictator Dark is up to."

Harry stared at him for a moment. "Did you just call Voldemort-" the adults all flinched- "'Dictator Dark?!'"

Marik shrugged slightly, looking at the floor. "Yeah. I just can't bring myself to say 'You-Know-Who.'"

Harry sat still for several seconds before he burst out laughing, doubling over in his chair and leaning his forehead against the table in front of him. Marik looked taken aback for a moment before he smirked.

"You can use it if you want to," the Egyptian said cheekily. He ignored the mortified faces of those around him, focusing instead on the image of Ryou hiding a smile desperately behind his hand. Harry finally looked up, wiping his eyes.

"I think I will. Thank you… uh… Marik."

"No problem."

Lupin stared at them for several seconds before he rubbed his forehead slightly. "Alright, alright… settle down." He waited a moment before speaking, "What we know is limited, since it's still so early. Voldemort is indeed interested in the Items, and he did send some of his people to Domino this past week. They didn't do anything, however, but he knows you five aren't where you should be. However, it just proves us right in being cautious and taking you here immediately. He knows that we have you, and he's aware that you will be attending Hogwarts this year."

Kaiba frowned, eyes twitching down to Mokuba for a moment. "Is there anything he _doesn't_ know?"

Sirius smirked at him. "Actually, yes- how the Items work and what people have the last two Items. He has agents crawling all over Egypt looking for information. Somehow I'm doubt he'll find any."

Marik nodded. "Damn straight!" he growled, crossing his arms. Yugi shook his head slightly before watching the man with cautious eyes.

"Is everyone safe?" Yugi asked quickly, and Marik stiffened, eyes widening. Lupin smiled softly.

"As safe as we can make them. Your friends in Domino, your grandfather in Norwich, Yugi, and your sister and brother in Egypt, Marik. Kaiba, we've also posted a few people around KaibaCorp to ensure its safety," the greying brunet said.

Yugi slouched back into is chair with a sigh, while Marik rubbed his forehead, closing is eyes. Kaiba's eyes narrowed, opening his mouth to say how much he did _not_ appreciate having people poke around his corporation, before Mokuba prodded his side again and smiled.

"He appreciates it. _Really._"

Kaiba glared at his younger brother but finally ended it by rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, turning his gaze back to the brown-eyed man. "Is there anything else?"

Lupin frowned, turning his gaze around at the other adults in the room. When no one else spoke, Lupin smiled at them. "No," he said, "that's all."

"Good," Kaiba grumbled, rising to his feet in one swift motion, leaving the kitchen without a backwards glance. Mokuba followed immediately after. Yugi sighed as he rose with Marik and Ryou, smiling around the table once more.

"Thanks. It was a wonderful meal. Have a good night's rest everyone," the teen said, walking towards the door. Ryou bowed is head to them as he followed. Marik stopped just before he left, holding the door open as he grinned at them.

"Have fun and stuff, alright?"

And the door closed softly behind him.

--

**AFTER NOTES:** Holy crap. This is the _longest_ chapter yet. I just couldn't figure out where to end it. Expect the next chapter to be done next Wednesday.

**Works Cited****:**

– Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Chapter 4, Page 65.

– Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Chapter 4, Page 66.

**CHAPTER TITLE: **TURBO, TEMPESTAS** -**_-Throw into Disorder, Storm_


	8. Contego

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix , but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS: **Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (Shonen-ai and Het)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Sorry for taking so long, guys! I bought a laptop recently and the document transfer wasn't quite as smooth as I could have hoped.

_Also_: Yeah- I noticed that Ryou was a bit angsty in the last chapter, but there really wasn't a good spot to have chipper!Ryou running around. This chapter will have some angst!Ryou, but mostly happy!Ryou.

_Also_: Kudos to you, Raz2b, for picking up on something I was planning on addressing when I first decided to write this: Yami Bakura is half of Ryou's soul, so why isn't the separation affecting him? Don't worry, I'm doing something about that!

_Also_: Since there has been some mention of this, I'll bring it up: yes, games will be played. :D I've never actually written out a duel before, so I'm slightly nervous about doing so. Not to worry- I'll make it as best as I can. XD

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT:****CONTEGO**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Harry Potter has come and Voldemort is on the hunt for the Millennium Items. The trust between the two parties living in Grimmauld Place is shaky- neither is telling the other everything._

* * *

"Ryou, what on Earth are you doing up so early?"

Ryou blinked, turning around and gazing at Mrs. Weasley over the top of _Magical Theory_ by Bathilda Bagshot. He smiled shyly at her from the couch, sticking a bookmark into the textbook and setting the quill and parchment he'd been taking notes onto another cushion. He straightened his white pajama shirt and pulled the zip-up sweater tighter over his shoulders. He set the book down on his blue-clad lap.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Ryou said, "I just decided I'd like to study in the drawing room this morning before breakfast," the teen said quietly. Mrs. Weasley nodded slowly, setting aside a pail and a bucket of spray bottles. She walked over to the curtains- that Ryou had noticed were buzzing annoyingly earlier- and frowned. She exhaled at them.

"I thought I was going to de-Doxify the curtains myself this morning, but they're a bit worse than I thought. I'll just wait for the rest of the children to awake!"

She then turned around and looked at the old sofa in the middle of the room. It had a wooden frame, black with silver just around the edges, and cushions of similar color of the buzzing curtains and carpet- moss green. Of everything in the room, it was this piece that seemed to have been taken care of the most. There were three boxes lying on the floor underneath it, and Mrs. Weasley sighed as she looked at him. Ryou looked at her, and then turned his gaze to the boxes beneath his seat, and then looked up at the woman with a bright smile.

"I can help with that. I'm quite ready to take a break from studying."

"Oh, would you? Thank you dear."

Ryou stood and backed a few paces from the couch, and both of them kneeled down. Mrs. Weasley waved her wand around the boxes, muttering under her breath. She then flicked her wand, and the boxes slid out from under the couch and stopped in front of them. Ryou was smiling widely, eyes bright.

"Magic is… wonderful," he murmured after a moment, but kept his hands in front of him, not willing to touch the box until he was sure it was safe. Mrs. Weasley smiled back at him.

"Absolutely! Now, you dig through this one in front of you and I'll get started on the middle one here," she grabbed onto her box and carefully pulled it open.

Ryou wasn't listening, for he'd already pulled open the box, and found it to be full of old towels. There were several spiders that skittered away from him as soon as he opened the box, and it was then he noticed that there was a large hole in the side of the box through which a few were fleeing. He frowned, flicking a spider from the top as he carefully pulled out several ruined, moth-eaten, web-covered pieces of cloth before a sudden noise caused his hand to pause.

"_Squee!"_

The noise was a sharp, piercing squeak that caused Mrs. Weasley to turn her wand upon the box. She frowned, looking at the cardboard before tapping on the side.

"Sorry dearie! Something must have crawled into it. Let me…"

However, the next moment found Ryou pulling out his own wand and using it to lift up the next towel, under which _something_ was squirming. He blinked down at it, and Mrs. Weasley's eyebrows rose.

"Well, what's this?"

While the hole in the side of the box had suggested an animal the size of cat had lived there, in fact there were five small, custard-colored fluff-balls in the middle of what looked like some sort of animal nest. Ryou frowned, poking one of them with his wand. When it didn't move, Mrs. Weasley made a few 'tut' noises, shaking her head slightly.

"Poor things- mother probably ran away when we first arrived."

"What _are_ they, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Oh, sorry Ryou. Puffskeins, young ones at that. Usually they're bred domestically, but this nest's mother must have just broken into the house… I wonder how it did that…"

Ryou reached into the box with careful hands, lifting the edge of a towel that the dead creatures lay. Suddenly, a green blur rocketed out from under it, and slid into a corner, turning large, black eyes to him. It squeaked again, but it had no noticeable mouth, or legs for that matter. It was smaller than the yellow, tennis ball-sized ones- this creature was the size of a golf ball. Ryou couldn't help himself- his fingers instantly darted inside and he plucked the tiny ball from the box and looked it over.

"Well, this one isn't dead," the brown-eyed teen said, turning to look at the woman beside him. Mrs. Weasley smiled at him, peering at the puffskein over his shoulder.

"Well, would you look at that! I've never seen a _green_ puffskein before. Nor one quite so small. Here, take it to the kitchen and give it some of the scraps from last night."

"B-but the boxes…"

"Don't worry about that! This isn't quite as bad as I thought it was! If any of the children are awake, will you ask them to send the rest down? We need to tackle these curtains…"

Thus, Ryou was ushered from the drawing room, holding a tiny, frightened puff-ball in his hands. He could feel it shivering, probably with fear, and he ran a finger softly through the buddle of green fur. It gave a squeak before shifting across his hand- it felt like it was _sliding_, rather then crawling- and turning its eyes upon him. The white-haired teen smirked as he pushed open the door to the kitchen.

"If it isn't Ryou!"

"We didn't know you woke up so early!"

Ryou blinked up at the two twins, where they stood leaning against the stove as they picked over the remains of their dinner last night. Ryou grinned sheepishly, holding his hands out for Fred and George to see.

"I was helping your mother with some boxes-"

"Willingly?!"

"You're mad!"

"-And happened across this little creature."

Besides their previous outbursts questioning Ryou's sanity, the duo came closer, and peered at the tiny green furball in Ryou's hands. George glanced at his brother, who was looking back at him.

"Puffskein?" George said with a gleam in his brown eyes.

"Green?" Fred replied, brown eyes also glowing.

"Wicked!" they cried in unison, rounding on the Ryou's hands again. The puffskein gave a squeak and fled to the back of Ryou's cupped hands. Ryou pulled his hands away, frowning at them.

"You're scaring him," the albino snapped, frowning at the two. The twins had the decency to look ashamed.

"Gosh, we're awful sorry!"

"How could we scare the pour critter like that, Fred?"

Ryou rolled his eyes before turning back to the twins, his hands extended out to them. "I'm going to get him some of the leftover bread from last night. Could you please hold him for me?"

George gingerly took the tiny ball of green fluff while Ryou darted to the fridge, hiding his small smile as Fred gave a soft coo to the puffskein. He returned, taking the puffskein back into his left palm while he fed pieces of the bread to him with his right hand. As the tiny green creature consumed the vittles, Ryou turned and looked at the two red-headed seventeen-year-olds.

"Oh, and your mother said that you two need to go wake everyone up to clean the drawing room- it's a bit worse than she thought it was."

George groaned, rolling his head back and slouching against the counter. Fred placed his head on the counter with a loud _thud_. Ryou winced slightly, pausing in feeding the puffskein, who was currently mouthing a particularly large piece.

"What's wrong? I mean, I know cleaning isn't very fun and all…"

George looked over at him, using his hands to push himself to sit on the countertop. "It's just that, we thought that we'd at least get one day off since Harry came."

Fred lifted his head and looked conflicted for a moment, before pressing on. "His relatives… tend to work him rather hard while he stays there. We thought maybe Mom'd give us all the day off to just hang out."

Ryou frowned at this new information, eyebrows furrowing as he continued to feed the green ball in his hand. George watched him for several seconds. "Don't mention that to him, though. Home life is a bit touchy for him."

Ryou blinked, turning his brown eyes upon the twins before smiling. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't bring it up." He turned his attention to the puffskein in his hands before smiling lightly. "Hey… what do you think I should name him?"

* * *

"_Booger_? You named your pet 'Booger?'"

Mokuba, adorned in black silk pajamas, leaned over the edge of the top bunk, staring down at the puffskein that Ryou had lifted up to show him. Ryou grinned at him, eyes bright. "I asked the twins about it. Apparently they… uh… eat their wizard's boogers while they sleep. I suggested it, and they agreed."

Mokuba reached down and stroked the soft fur, earning a squeaky purr from Booger. He grinned at Ryou. "He seems like an interesting thing. But, uh, keep him away from my nose. I'm sure Seto would appreciate the same."

Ryou nodded, smiling slightly as he turned around and walked over his bed, setting down Booger on the black comforter with silver swirls. As Ryou turned to shuffle through his clothing, Mokuba climbed down and went over his Heqet, smiling at her and scratching the Tyrian Toad under the chin. The toad gurgled her appreciation, blinking lovingly at the blue-violet-eyed boy.

"You'll make sure Heqet doesn't try to eat Booger, won't you Mokuba?" Ryou said as he pulled on his jeans. "He probably looks like a tasty, fuzzy treat to her." He pulled his sweater off and then pulled his shirt over his head.

Mokuba chuckled, looking over at Ryou, who had his back to the younger boy. Even so, the dark, thin scars that raced up Ryou's right arm were easy to see. Other scars, faded with time, were scratched into his upper arms. Mokuba turned back around and quickly fed his pet a few blowflies as Ryou pulled a dark blue shirt on, quickly followed by long-sleeved white button-up shirt, which he left unbuttoned.

"Where did Kaiba go, anyway?" Ryou asked as he turned around, tugging at his white shirt. Mokuba jerked his head towards the door.

"He left a few minutes after you did. I think he said something about a shower, but I was still half-asleep."

"Oh," was all Ryou said before leaning down and picking up Booger from his bed. Mokuba was tugging a green vest over his brown long-sleeved shirt when the door opened, admitting Kaiba. The tall brunet was still wearing a white-and-maroon sleeveless coat and black undershirt. His still looked wet. Ryou stared at it with carefully hidden curiosity.

'_Does he only have one outfit?_' Ryou found himself thinking, and crinkled his nose at the thought. He smiled at Kaiba, nodding his head in greeting. "Good morning, Kaiba."

The CEO frowned at Ryou, blue eyes flashing down to Booger in his hands. "What is that?" he asked after a moment.

"Oh, this is Booger. He's a puffskein," Ryou said with a bright smile, holding the ball of fluff out to Kaiba. The brunet raised an eyebrow, as if trying to decide whether or not he should ask. After a long moment, he gave in.

"Booger?"

Mokuba chirped from nearby, scratching Heqet once more. "Ryou said that puffskeins eat boogers, so it seemed appropriate. I already told him your nose is off limits, Seto."

Kaiba nodded to his younger brother. "Thank you for that, Mokuba. And do keep… _Booger_ away from my nose."

Ryou nodded, clutching the ball to his chest. "Don't worry- I'll keep an eye on him."

With a few quick nods in both Kaibas' directions, he walked from the room, and right into Professor Snape. The greasy-haired man sneered as Ryou stumbled backward, bumping into Kaiba, who'd wandered over to see what the commotion was about. Ryou flushed and shifted away from the taller teen, straightening himself out before looking over at the black-eyed man.

"Got your balance?" Snape asked nastily, the sneer still in place. Ryou merely nodded, ducking his head and clutching Booger closer to his chest. The Potions Master dusted off his own robes before drawing himself to his full height.

"The Headmaster will be here on Tuesday, at ten o'clock at night. That is the _only_ time he will be available to you." He stared down his nose at Ryou, who shifted back slightly. This seemed to please the Professor. "Tell the rest of you group, and do _not_ come to me with such a task _again._"

"Yes sir," Ryou uttered softly, nodding his head even as he kept his brown eyes on the black of his Professor. Snape jerked his head once in a nod before spinning around, cloak billowing out behind him. As he disappeared down the stairs, Mokuba peaked his head out from behind his older brother.

"Jeez, he's a bit cranky right now, isn't he?"

* * *

The next three days passed uneventfully for the studying foursome- fivesome if Yami was counted. The first year text was the easiest to get through, and according to what they would be tested on the first week back, the four with wands felt they were adequately prepared for second year texts. While the first year wand-magics put an emphasis on pronunciation and wand movement which was easy enough to get through, the second year was more about results, which left the group in a bit of a bind with spell work. Thankfully, there was always the texts to… _enjoy_ while they waited for their future Headmaster to arrive on the night of the tenth.

"Alright Yugi…" Marik began, tapping the quill against his thigh while he nibbled on the nail of his left thumb from his spot on the dark floor, "an Ashwinder lays eggs in a wooden room and they're about to hatch. What spell would you use to preserve the eggs so that you can use them in a potion later?"

Yugi frowned, also sitting on the floor, and looked down at his wand which he was fiddling with in his hands. He chanced a glance to the side, where Yami was sitting calmly on a dresser, and saw that the spirit's red eyes were bright with amusement. A wadded-up piece of parchment struck Yugi in the back of the head.

"No cheating!" Marik called, and Yugi turned around, a playful frown on his face.

There was a tense silence as Yugi turned his eyes to the dark ceiling, as if the answer was written there. Part of it must have, for suddenly Yugi jolted, spinning around and pointing his wand at Marik. "Wait, oh! Gel… Gela… Geli… Ah! _Gelos_!" Yugi blurted, nearly dropping his wand when he got it out. Marik nodded, glazing down at the notes he'd taken.

"And what is the _proper_ name for _Gelos_?"

Yugi frowned, dropping his gaze to the side for a moment. "Uh… the Preservation Charm?"

Marik let loose an overly dramatic groan, writhing as if in pain. "Yugi! So close!" He turned his lavender eyes around, twitching for Kaiba to Ryou, who were both watching the exchange. Marik thrust a finger at Ryou.

"Ryou, for our grand prize, what is the _name_?!"

Ryou grinned, straightening. "It's the _Refrigeration _Charm."

Marik pumped his fist into the air, eyes bright with excitement. "You got it! For that you win… Nothing!"

Ryou rolled his eyes, smiling, and went back to his own notes. "Just what I've always wanted…"

Sitting on Marik's bed, next to the prostrate Sekhmet, Mokuba yawned, stretching his arms as he looked over the first year text from years past as he reviewed in hopes of getting a head start on his education. Kaiba looked over at his brother from Yugi's bed, frowning.

"It's getting late," the CEO said, "you shouldn't even be up."

Mokuba stared at his brother for several seconds before huffing and crossing his arms. "I'm not sleeping in our bedroom by myself! It's creepier when you're alone!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, but his lips quirked up into a small smirk at the black-haired youth's antics. "Fine. But then the moment we're done, we're going into our room. Ryou?"

Ryou blinked over at him before nodding. "Yeah, that sounds good to me. It's going to be crazy tomorrow, I bet."

"Why?" Marik said, looking up from his text. Ryou sighed, but Yugi answered.

"Harry's trial is the day after. Everyone is going to be running around to make Harry comfortable about it all. I wonder if that's why Dumbledore is here so late- he's visiting Har-"

A strong pulse of Neo-Magic blasted through Grimmauld Place, leaving Yugi gasping in pain and the other three wincing at the sudden exposure. Kaiba got to his feet and walked over to the door, opening it and peering out into the hallway. Voices drifted carelessly up the stairs to his awaiting ears. The others came over to listen as well.

"Lupin's finally transforming," he could hear Sirius saying, "and he's all there. Almost too late to get him the potion, thanks to Snape's late arrival. _Snivillous_ said he 'forgot' and that he was 'too busy-' my opinion is that the bastard thinks it'd be _hilarious_ if someone was bitten."

Then Dumbledore's soothing tones echoed up the stairwell to group.

"I doubt he meant to take so long. You know as well as I do that he's under an extraordinary amount of pressure lately. He made it here before anything could happen. He wouldn't risk it for a joke, especially with the attack last month. And do please stop calling him that Sirius- you are two grown men now. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to talk with our guests upstairs."

Sirius grumbled unhappily for several long moments, but the sound of footsteps climbing the stairway caused the group to retreat back into their room, closing the door behind them. Marik scurried over to his pile of books and paper and tried to organize them in some way, while Yami merely laughed at his efforts.

"It's not going to do any good, Marik," the incorporeal spirit said. "It's a lost cause. We need to order binders for all of this paper."

The knock at the door make Marik jump, and his papers flew through the air, one falling through the Pharaoh's head, which made the tomb keeper scoff with laughter. The red-eyed spirit flinched at the sensation, before narrowing his eyes and staring at the blonde. "Yes, ha-ha. It's hilarious."

Marik sputtered with laughter even more, and Yugi went to soothe Yami's ruffled ego. Ryou placed a finger to his lips as he walked over to the door, opening it slightly and peaking out. He smiled and opened it wider, admitting the Headmaster.

Dumbledore walked into the room, and let his eyes dart across the people within. Marik was trying to gather his fallen paper, while Yugi was leaning against the dresser that Yami was sitting on, not that Dumbledore could see him anyway. Kaiba was leaning against the nearby wall, his own blue eyes staring hard at him. Mokuba had returned to his own text, knowing his input was unnecessary to the conversation about to be had. And Ryou was closing the door behind him.

"Severous has told me that you needed to tell me something about the shadow magic. It must be urgent for you to have gone to him for assistance," the Headmaster said, the twinkling in his eye showing his amusement. Yugi sighed, fingering his forehead slightly.

"Well, from what we can gather, our shadow magic reacts badly with your neo-magic, right?" Dumbledore nodded, and Yugi continued. "Apparently it isn't just the spells and the Items. Whenever a neo-magical aura gets close to us, we get headaches."

Marik looked up, holding a large, disheveled pile of paper. "In fact, just a few minutes ago _something_ let off a blast of your neo-magic, and it gave us all a bit of a zinger."

Dumbledore took a seat on Yugi's bed, abandoned by Kaiba earlier, and steepled his fingers, elbows resting on his knees. "I was unaware that your magic would react with our magic in this way."

Yugi shrugged and looked at him. "It wasn't so bad before- now that we're within these… wards, the magic seems to be amplified, like it's echoing in the building. And Ginny mentioned that Hogwarts is coated in it, and it has wards…"

Dumbledore looked over at Yugi, turning his eyes upon his fingers in concentration. After a moment, he brought out his wand and waved it, and four books appeared out of thin air. The piled neatly on the bed beside him, and Dumbledore lifted the top book from the pile.

"'_Behind the Mind: An Overview of Occlumency_ by Gemyd Ward.'"

The Headmaster held the book out to Marik, who set his papers to the side and took the thick, black book with silver writing from his hands. "'Occlumency?' What's that?"

"It's a magic used to protect oneself from magical mental meddling," Dumbledore said simply, and looked down at another copy. "I believe this will help you overcome your sensitivity to neo-magic by shielding you from it. Magical hypersensitivity is dealt with the same way in the wizarding world." Dumbledore, despite giving the books, still looked slightly upset. "If I had known that this might occur, I would have given you these books earlier. Since there is no one available to teach the Occlumency, these texts will have to do."

Yugi leaned over Marik's shoulder at the blonde flipped through the book. Ryou, however, sighed, scratching the back of his white-haired head. "So… we're still going to be in for a world of hurt when we get there, aren't we?"

Dumbledore was still for a moment, but nodded, earning a groan from Marik. Yugi flinched, rubbing his temples already. Mokuba could only look around in sympathy for the older males. Kaiba sighed, rolling his eyes back in annoyance. Dumbledore frowned at them, the twinkle greatly subdued.

"I am truly sorry to have caused you this discomfort…"

Marik sighed, waving his hand through the air. "Hey, if we didn't know, there was no way _you_ could know. So don't worry about it. The best you can do is just warn us if someone or something with a large magical aura enters the place so we can brace ourselves. Uh… but what _was_ that pulse of neo-magic from?"

Dumbledore smiled at him, rising to his feet. "A friend of mine is sick. Unfortunately, it appears a pulse of magical energy is a part his dilemma."

Marik frowned at this, but a sense of understanding filled Yami's crimson gaze. Dumbledore bid them farewell and departed, and Yami floated into the middle of the room.

"Yugi, what night is this?"

Yugi blinked at him, frowning. "Yami, it's Tuesday. The tenth?"

Ryou jolted, eyes widening as he turned to look at the spirit. "Yami… you don't think that Lupin is…"

Marik jumped, lavender eyes wide. He clamped a hand over his mouth, as if stifling his own yells. He then hissed, "It's a full moon!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes backward, staring at the ceiling with a disgusted look on his face. "Werewolves. Of course. Evil megalomaniacs with God complexes aren't enough already. Anyone know any vampires?"

"I'd be willing to bet Snape is one."

"Not funny, Marik."

"I know it isn't. We should try a mirror or something to be sure."

"Marik."

"Yes, Kaiba?"

"Shut up before I feed _you_ to a vampire."

"…Promise it won't be Snape?"

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: I'm so sorry for taking forever to get this up, and then on top of that making the chapter short. I bought a new laptop, and the transfer of this story from my computer to the laptop took a bit longer than I expected. Plus, I just started college, you see, so finding time to update is a lot harder than it used to be. Forgive me for that. Thus, the updates will probably be closer to once every two weeks, shorter as well, but I _will_ update! Spam me with PMs if I don't.

**CHAPTER TITLE: **CONTEGO - _defend_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ The trial! How are the Weasleys and the Order handling it, and will the group survive the wrath of Granger? Plus, Ryou has a bloody encounter with an old friend… Or does he…?_


	9. Judicium

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix , but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Title change! I think that this title makes a lot more sense, but still similar to what I had before.

_Also_: This chapter does a lot of jumping around, but it all occurs within the day of Harry's trial. I'm sorry to see the chapters smaller, but that just means there will be more chapters overall.

_Also_: If anyone is wondering where I'm getting my dates and days of the week from, I'm using the Harry Potter Lexicon's calendar. It's _brilliant_. That calendar corresponds with the 1995 year, if I'm not mistaken, but this story is probably more in the 2000's instead. It's an AU, so I can if I want to. XD I've making my own school schedule, though, so don't look at the one they have there when the school year begins. Too confusing and my interpretations of some things doesn't match theirs.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE:  
****Judicium**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Occlumency training has begun for the Shadow Mages, and Harry's trial date has finally come._

* * *

The house was oddly quiet when the five foreigners came down the dark, depressing stairway at quarter-till-six in the morning and headed into the kitchen to eat with the rest of the household. Usually the five of them remained in their room until the Order had eaten and then treaded into the kitchen to eat. Today, however, Yugi _convinced_ them to go down and give Harry their support. (Actually, Yami forced them to go down or else he'd inflict mind-crushes on those unwilling- namely Kaiba and Marik. Mokuba was exempt from this, if only because Kaiba demanded they let him sleep until a decent hour.)

The kitchen was practically empty except for two people- Harry and Molly Weasley. Harry was poking at the bowl of porridge in front of him, face slightly green around the gills. Even so, Mrs. Weasley continued to speak about how the trial was completely ridiculous and how there was no case and there was nothing to worry about. Yugi, noticing the pep-talk was having the opposite reaction on Harry, prodded Ryou in the side. The brown eyes boy blinked over at his friend before sighing, slinking into the kitchen before everyone else, eyes downcast. When Mrs. Weasley looked over at him, he took the care to slap on a large, fake smile for her to see right through.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Ryou said too cheerfully, stroking Booger, who'd taken refuge on his shoulder. The red-haired woman smiled wide at him, but with a considering look.

"Ryou! Oh, you've come to join us for breakfast. How wonderful! But you look a little tired, dear. Is something wrong?"

"Well… I had a rough night last night, you see…" Ryou trailed off, dropping his eyes to the side as his hair effectively hid the upper portion of his face. Mrs. Weasley immediately went into mothering-mode, and slipped an arm around him.

"Oh, tell me all about it, dear."

Ryou mumbled about cruel laughter and flashes of light and Booger on his shoulder squeak and shivered as if part of the whole act. Ryou slid himself and the worrying woman out of the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley murmuring to him as they did. Yugi closed the door behind them, and glanced at Harry, who was giving them a suspicious look. Yugi smiled brightly at him, while Kaiba began to get out a few bowls for the three unfed people in the room. Marik rushed to get silverware for the group. Yugi pulled up a chair next to Harry. The dark-haired teen's eyes narrowed behind his lenses, his porridge forgotten.

Yugi pulled out his Duel Monsters deck, and began to shuffle the cards. "This is what I do when I get nervous about something," was all the spiky-haired teen had to say on the subject. He shuffled, and Harry's brilliant green eyes eventually dropped to stare at the blur of cards. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're pretty good at that. …As much of a compliment _that_ is…" Harry said, turning to look once more at Yugi. Yugi grinned, and held out the deck to Harry.

"I'm a professional. Here, you do it. Keep your mind on the cards, and forget about everything else."

Harry skeptically stared at the brown-backed cards before sighing and taking the deck, using his elbow to push away his barely-touched bowl. He began to shuffle, awkwardly at first, making the cards bend at angles that made Yami wince from where he floated overhead. However, Harry eventually got into the tempo of it- split the deck, merge the deck, split the deck, merge the deck. Once the green color had drained from his face, his stomach gave a hearty growl. He paused, face flushing brilliantly. He carefully merged the deck one last time, and held the deck out to Yugi.

Yugi reached to take it, and paused. He looked at the top of the deck and then back to Harry. He smiled and gestured to the deck. "Draw the top card, Harry."

Harry set the deck down, and pulled the top card off, hesitating in looking at it. Yugi held out his hand, and Harry placed the card in it. The blonde-banged teen looked down at the card, and grinned brightly. He turned it over and showed it to the young wizard.

"Dark Magician Knight. One of the cards that I got from competing in Kaiba's Battle City Tournament. Unfortunately, it requires a spell card to play it, and I don't have it."

Kaiba huffed, rolling his eyes as he thrust a bowl of the white, lumpy stuff in front of Yugi. "Thanks to my Tournament, you now have _several_ other rare cards. If you don't want it, you could sign it and sell it for enough to retire with."

The world-champ merely smiled at his tallest friend and turned back to Harry, claiming the rest of his deck from the green-eyed teen. He looked over at still too-pale teen and pushed the Effect Card back into his hands.

"Take it," the Puzzle carrier said. Harry sputtered, glancing from the figure on the card and to the teen who was giving to him.

"D-didn't you hear what… uh… Kaiba said? You could make a lot of money with this card! Wh-why give it to me?"

Yugi chuckled, shuffling his deck and leaning his head to the right, eyes glazing over slightly. It looked as though he was listening to a noise no one else could hear. The amethyst eyes refocused onto Harry's after a moment, and he merely smiled.

"I'm not concerned about money. Besides," Yugi leaned over and peered at the card in Harry's hand, "I know this is where he belongs."

Harry frowned, eyeing the teen beside him. "You act like he's real, or at least like the card has _feelings_…"

Yugi shrugged, placing the cards into the deck holder on his hip. Harry frowned, looking at Yugi. "I can't just put it in my pocket- I'll ruin the card."

Yugi smiled simply and shook his head. "No, I doubt that. Just trust me. And try to eat some more- you look thinner than me, and I'm a foot shorter than you!"

Harry peered at him for a few seconds before nodding, sliding the card into his pocket. With a set expression, he turned back to his porridge, and began to place large, lumpy spoonful into his mouth. Kaiba pulled up beside him, staring at the porridge quietly.

"I haven't had porridge since I was a kid," he murmured, poking the substance with his spoon. His eyes were dark. Marik decided to fix that.

"You were a kid, Kaiba?! I thought you stepped down from the heavens, a gift from the Gods themselves!"

Harry nearly choked on his next bite, and Kaiba glared at Marik. "Pass that damn sugar," he hissed, but the gloomy expression had effectively faded from his eyes. Marik quickly obliged, stifling a yawn.

The door opened, and Ryou slid back inside, running a hand through his hair, face flushed with embarrassment. "I thought I'd never get away…" he muttered, staring, vexed, at the door. He walked over large pot of porridge, smiling as he filled a bowl for himself. He sat across from Kaiba. Harry looked at the door, as if expecting something. After nothing happen, he turned to Ryou.

"So, where is Mrs. Weasley?"

Ryou blinked at him, but grinned sheepishly. "My stomach growled while we were talking in the drawing room. She sent me away to the kitchen." The brown-eyed boy quickly took a bite of his porridge. "My mother used to make porridge all the time when I was younger. I haven't had this in _years_."

Yugi looked at the mushy stuff before him, apprehensive. The others had gladly and eagerly dove into their respective dishes, but the Japanese boy frowned. "I… I've never had porridge before."

Suddenly he was assaulted by Marik and Harry turning to him, thrusting small bottles of salt and sugar at him. The two teens glared at one another, a fierce competitiveness glowing in their eyes. Ryou covered his mouth with his hands as he smothered his laughter and even Kaiba looked vaguely amused. Yami was eyeing the offerings thoughtfully, and Yugi feared for his life.

"Use salt!" Harry demanded, while Marik scowled and thrust the sugar and honey at Yugi.

"Don't listen to him! Honey and sugar is what you want!"

Yugi's eyes widened and his gaze darted between Marik and Harry. He face flushed slightly, and he darted his eyes momentarily to where his yami hovered just over his shoulder.

/ Yami! What do I do?! /

Yami was eyeing the porridge thoughtfully, and then a startled expression darted through his red eyes. Yugi missed it, however, his eyes already returned to the two teens in front of him.

/ Honey. Sugar and honey, / the pharaoh said softly, staring at the lumpy mess. Yugi frowned between the two for several more seconds.

"How about I try the honey and sugar on this bowl, and then salt in another?"

Harry frowned for a millisecond before grinning at him. Marik flashed a triumphant smirk at the teen before he pushed the sweeteners over to the shortest teen. Yami's strange emotions washed over Yugi, and as he added and mixed the porridge, he sent a wave of concern over to the spirit.

/ Yami? What's wrong? /

The Pharaoh started, blinking over at his young host. / I'm sorry. This just seems… familiar. /

/ Want to try some? / Yugi said without hesitation, / I can just bow my head a little, and the Puzzle will stay under the table, so when it flashes Harry won't notice. That way, you can also take over for the rest of the day- you haven't had a chance to actually _look_ around in awhile. /

Yami smiled softly, gently touching Yugi's should with an incorporeal hand. / I'd like that, / he said, / I really would. /

Yugi smiled to himself, and took the first bite, chewing it carefully before nodding at the two teen in front of him. He swallowed, grinning. "That's really good!"

He gave Marik an extra glance- who blinked before nodding almost unnoticeably- and turned back to the porridge, leaning down a little bit more and hiding the Puzzle under the table's edge, spoon poised to scoop.

"_**WAAAHH-CHOO**_**!**"

Marik sneezed loudly, startling Harry into jerking toward the Egyptian. His bright green eyes were wide with shock.

"Bloody hell!"

"I thought the phrase was more heavenly. Something like 'bless you?'"

"That's for sneezes that don't threaten to blow us through the window!"

Marik's laughed, keeping Harry's attention and giving Yami the chance to switch places with Yugi, thus the flash of light from the Puzzle went unnoticed. Yami quickly scooped a mouthful of the honey-sugar-porridge mixture into his mouth, and the Pharaoh nodded, eyeing Marik. The Egyptian grinned, turning to look at Harry.

"Ancient Egyptians used to eat porridge, you know."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and his vibrant green eyes zoomed in on the Millennium Necklace hanging from the teen's neck. "Your…_ Items_ are from Egypt, right? Ancient Egypt?"

Marik nodded, stroking the gold around his neck. Harry watched as each of the four teen immediately went to grasp or touch their Items. The Boy Who Lived raised an eyebrow at them.

"Can you make more of them? Do you know how?"

Yami's eyes narrowed, shoving another spoonful into his mouth, and Marik shook his head. "No. No one does. There aren't any ruins, no records, no books, no reference outside of word of mouth about the Items."

Harry sighed, nodding his head. "Good. If Voldemort was able to create his own…"

"I doubt he could," Yami said, making Harry jump. The teen raised an eyebrow.

"What… happened to your voice? It's deeper."

Yami blinked, frowning at Marik. The blonde nodded slightly. "Yugi, it is true. Maybe you're finally entering puberty!"

Yami sputtered, face flushing on the behalf of Yugi. Harry snickered slightly at his antics, but then the door was gently pushed open. Harry gulped visibly, and immediately patted the pocket that held the card that Yugi had given him. The four other students swung around and spotted Arthur Weasely standing there, his wife at his side with a suit in her hands. Behind them, several members of the Order had gathered, with Remus and Sirius at the forefront.

"Well Harry," Arthur began uneasily as his eyes flashed across the four other teens in the room, "it's time to get ready."

The teen swallowed thickly and nodded, rising to his feet and reaching to pick up his bowl, but Ryou snatched it up before he could. When Ryou saw the confusion written across his face, the white-haired teen smiled. "Let me, Harry. Go get ready for this farce of a trial."

Harry offered a small smile from his sickly pale face and stood, nodding. "If… if you see everyone, tell them I'll see them later, alright?"

Ryou smiled back. "Of course."

Giving him a swift nod, Harry walked out of the kitchen and towards the suddenly chatty group of adults who quickly swooped in on him to take care of him. With a last parting look and small smile, Harry's visage vanished behind the closed door.

* * *

An hour Harry was gone, Ryou found himself washing dishes in the kitchen, listening as Mrs. Weasley jabbered on about nothing and everything. She was zooming around the kitchen, gathering more eggs and milk and other cooking supplies to bake a large cake.

"We're going to celebrate when Harry comes back. We… we must have cake for everyone!" Her eyes were bright against her pale face when Ryou turned to look at her. She seemed to finally see him there, and smiling brightly, widely at him. "Ryou, what kind of cake would you and your friends want? We never got a chance to welcome you lot into Grimmauld Place properly."

Ryou blinked for a few seconds, hands pausing in the water. "Oh, um…" he began, turning his eyes Mrs. Weasley, "well, I like vanilla. Yugi… he's fond of chocolate. Mokuba said Kaiba likes marble, and he does as well. Marik likes strawberry. Sorry we don't really agree on flavors."

Mrs. Weasley looked undaunted. "Ryou, you forget where you are!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "A cake with four different flavors is hardly a cause for worry. Now, if you had requested a cake with eight, that might have been a cause for worry…"

Ryou merely smiled, and turned back to the dishes as Mrs. Weasley continued with the baking. The door opened, and both sets of eyes darted to the door where Mokuba stood, yawning noisily.

"Good morning, Mokuba," Ryou said pleasantly as the small boy slouched over to the large pot of porridge. (Mrs. Weasley had used a heating charm on it to keep it warm enough for later.) Next through the door came a more-awake-looking Ginny Weasley, followed by her brothers and Hermione. Ron and Hermione were both pale and sickly looking, and the twins were not smiling eagerly as they were prone to. "Oh, good morning everyone."

"Good morning, Ryou," Mokuba said as he spooned the slop into his bowl, eyeing it quietly before taking a seat nearest the sink at the table. The rest of the teenaged inhabitants took their places around the table, murmuring their hellos. Mrs. Weasley looked up from her cooking to inquire the desired cake flavors from the rest of the teens, which consisted of lemon, chocolate, vanilla, marble, and pumpkin. This sent the red-haired woman bustling around the kitchen, muttering about how she'd need to make a separate cake. She stepped out of the kitchen, calling for Sirius.

Once Ryou placed the last dish from the sink onto the pile that were drying, he turned around and came to a pause beside Mokuba, smiling down at the boy who was hardly touching his porridge, looking as pale as rest of the teens. Ryou frowned, pulling up another chair.

"Harry wanted me to tell you he'd see you later."

Ron jerked up, eyes wide as he stared at Ryou. "Wh-when did you see him?"

"Marik, Yugi, Kaiba, and I were all up early this morning to see him off."

Ron's face fell, and he looked, if possible, worse. Ryou flushed slightly at this. "I-I didn't mean…"

Ron sighed, pushing his bowl away and staring at it. "No, it's okay. We should have gotten up…"

Ryou fidgeted with his striped shirt, turning his gaze to the table. Hermione smiled softly at him.

"Did he seem… okay?"

Ryou smiled at her. "Yeah, as well as could be expected."

"Good."

Mrs. Weasley returned just as Ryou rose to his feet, leading a herd of cooking materials behind her, the items floating and bobbing through the air behind her. He gave her a small smile as he passed through the door of the kitchen and stepped into the hall. He paused after the door closed, exhaling and looking around. He crept silently through the hall and past the covered portrait of Mrs. Black. He paused outside Yugi and Marik's room, and gently knocked on the door. Marik opened it a moment later, and grinned at him.

"Well if it isn't Mister Fabulous! Come in- we were just about to dig into the Occlumency books."

Yami tossed Marik one of the blue books, who caught it. He passed it to Ryou, who smiled in thanks, before catching his own copy. Kaiba, sitting on Marik's bed, was already scribbling something from the book. Ryou looked over at him, leaning his head to the side.

"Kaiba, what did you find?"

The blue-eyed teen looked up at Ryou briefly before turning back to his parchment. "We have to _clear our minds_ of all thoughts and emotion for the Occlumency to actually work." His eyes twitched over to Marik and smirked. "This might be easier for others than for some."

Marik's nose twitched and he crossed his arms, spinning away from the teen. "I'm sorry Kaiba if we all do not possess the emotional capacity of a _toaster_."

Yami sputtered with laughter, clamping a hand over his mouth and turning his crimson gaze upon the CEO, whose twitching eyebrow was the only indication that the statement had annoyed him. Marik smiled winningly at him before turning to his own copy of the textbook and shuffled over to his seat next to the spirit on the shorter teen's bed.

Ryou smiled slightly before taking a seat at the edge of Marik's bed. He opened his own copy and glancing down at the words on the page.

'_Occlumency is an ancient and obscure branch of magic that creates a shield around the mind and magic core of a witch or wizard, halting any attempts- purposeful or accidental- at interfering with either of them. This technique has been used for generations in assisting with children and adults who develop MAS- Magical Aura Sensitivity, since the Occlumency shields will block foreign magic auras from interacting with their own._

'_The first step to mastering Occlumency is clearing your mind of any thoughts or emotion…'_

* * *

At least an hour had passed before Marik gave a loud, shaking yawn. He ran a hand through his hair, shaking it out. "This book is making it impossible to clear my mind- it practically is _forcing_ my thoughts to wander! Is anyone else having any luck?"

Kaiba smirked, holding up a pile of the yellow-tinted parchment. Tidy black words were written across the pages. "I doubt _luck_ had anything to do with it."

Marik scoffed, rolling his eyes and looking over at Yami, who was leaning over his book with his nose buried into the page. Marik raised an eyebrow, looking over at Kaiba and Ryou, both of whom had taken an interest. With an evil smirk, Marik gave the Pharaoh a hard shove, and the ancient spirit jolted, snorting and blinking around violently.

"Wh-what? What happened?"

"You fell asleep," Marik said accusingly, and Yami waved his hand, yawning into the other.

"I apologize. Yugi fell asleep first, and when he doses off, I follow almost immediately after."

Marik grumbled looking over at his copy of the text with obvious distaste. Ryou carefully closed his around his left pointer finger.

"Why don't we take turns taking notes from each section, and then just share what we have? We won't have to go through so much, and the rest of us can study something else in the meantime."

Kaiba looked over at Ryou, thoughtful for a moment. "I've seen your note-taking Ryou, and it's decent." Ryou flushed at the almost-compliment. "You two, however," he said with a scowl, earning twin glares from the Egyptians, "miss _everything_ of importance and only look at the bolded terms."

Marik blinked, looking at Yami who was equally confused. "I thought those _were_ the important items!"

Ryou sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. Kaiba merely grunted. "Ryou and I will take notes for this, since we've already gotten further than the two of you."

"How do you know that?!" the Pharaoh snapped. Kaiba pointed to Yami's forehead, where it was red and indented from the page he'd fallen asleep on. Yami pouted, crossing his arms and looking away.

Ryou nodded to Kaiba, and reached for the CEO's notes, who handed them over. The white-haired teen quickly went to work reading through the pages, comparing with his own. He looked up after a moment, smiling slightly at the brunet. "Do you think we'll need the diagrams, or do you think they'll be less effective since ours won't move?"

"Just sketch it to give them an idea," Kaiba responded with a grunt before reaching down and grabbing _Magical Drafts and Potions_ from a stack next to Yugi's bed. He picked up his quill and started into on where he left off- the second chapter of the second-year section.

Marik frowned, glaring at them bitterly. "Nerds," he grumbling bitterly under his breath before grabbing _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 2)_ from his side table and took up his note-taking once more. Yami quickly grabbed _A History of Magic_ from the floor and pulled his notes to him again.

* * *

"**THEY CHANGED THE TIME OF HIS TRIAL SO THAT IT WAS THREE HOURS EARLY!?**"

The group upstairs was rocketed out of their peaceful quiet a half hour into their studies by a shrill and angry voice from below. Yugi and the others abandoned their room and rushed to the railing, looking down. Surprisingly, it was not Molly Weasley who shrieked so loudly, but _Hermione Granger_. She stood, glaring down both the Order member who had just received a letter and one of the Order members who had rushed from the Ministry to make sure they knew. Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously as she rounded on one of their Ministry insiders.

"**ARE YOU TELLING ME THEY _PURPOSEFULLY_ TRIED TO MAKE HARRY LATE TO HIS OWN TRIAL?!**"

Not to be ignored, Mrs. Black immediately began to wail against the muggle-born witch. Hermione, red-faced and pissed, swung around and pointed at the portrait.

"**YOU!_ SHUT UP_!!**"

So surprised was the portrait of Sirius's mother that she actually fell silent and merely stared at the young witch. Lupin took his chance and pulled the curtains shut as the study-group slowly made their way down the stairs. Hermione placed a hand over her eyes and leaned backwards, against the nearest wall.

"They can't _do that_!" she whispered desperately. "They _can't_! That's unethical, immoral! What kind of government _is this_?!"

Kaiba snorted, drawing Hermione's enraged eyes upon him. "The kind that manipulates the laws into their favor. I've done it before with KaibaCorp," the CEO unabashedly admitted, "and I'm not sorry about it." Kaiba's cold eyes flashed as Mokuba slid over to him, and he ruffled the young boy's hair. "It's how politics works. How the real world works."

Hermione was speechless, mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the right words to properly articulate her outrage. When she deemed the task impossible, her mouth snapped shut with an audible _click_ and spun away, storming towards her room where she retreated within, slamming the door shut behind her.

Kaiba looked blandly at those staring at him. The combination of disgust (from most of the Order members) and amusement (Yami was smirking and Marik was hiding his smile) and unaffected (Yugi, who had become visible to see what was up, was shaking his head, Ryou was just blinking, and Mokuba yawned slightly since he often helped with those 'immoral' tasks) made him smirk, shrugging slightly.

"What?" he snapped after a moment, eyes dark as he glared at each person in turn. This made the crowd dissipate quickly, and Marik was able to snicker openly.

"Brilliant, Kaiba!" the teen declared, eyeing the CEO with a glimmer of respect in his eyes. Kaiba huffed, rolling his eyes, but a small smirk played across his lips.

"These people need to learn their world isn't as fair as they'd like it. You'd think they'd be expecting something underhanded like this with the smear campaign going on," he said as he glanced over his shoulder. Ryou nodded, looking at the door the Order had fled through.

"They're far too optimistic," the white-haired boy declared. This earned a light elbow to his midsection.

"_Reeeaally_?" Marik chortled. "That makes us pessimists then, does it?"

"No, that makes us realists," Ryou said with a shrug, but his brown eyes were bright. Yugi frowned, fingering his Puzzle.

"It's horrible that we have to learn to expect the worst of people," the hikari said after a long moment. "I don't think I'll be able to."

Yami stood beside him, patting his transparent shoulder. "As long as you have me, you won't have to, Hikari. Let _me_ expect the worse, and we'll compare notes." He glared at Kaiba. "No matter how _pathetic_ those notes may be."

Kaiba smirked, blue eyes bright. Yugi smiled to himself. /Thank you, Yami./

/No problem, Yugi./

* * *

A war-cry of "_He got off_!" rang through the dreary, old house.

"Oh Harry!"

Harry had barely walked into Grimmauld Place when Hermione flung herself at the raven-haired youth. He seemed surprised at the display of affection, but blinked before awkwardly patting the girl on the back with slight smile nonetheless. The brunette pulled herself away and cleared her throat, her eyes darkening with the anger from a few hours ago. "We heard what the Minister did with your trial. What a low and _sneaky_ move to do!"

Ron nodded, coming over to stand beside the Boy Who Lived. "It was practically _Slytherin_! You should've seen Hermione, though. She practically took that Auror's head off for being the _messenger_!"

When Hermione flushed, Marik chuckled, leaning on the banister, lavender eyes bright. When Harry's green eyes found his, he spoke: "She such a frightful sight that Mrs. Black went silent for her raging!"

"That's right!" Ron said suddenly. "Shut 'er up real good!"

Yami walked over to Harry smiling brightly. "I'm glad to see you're still heading to Hogwarts."

Harry's face immediately brightened, and he nodded at the older teen with maroon eyes and crazy hair. He patted is front pocket, where they both knew the Dark Magician Knight still was. "So'm I."

As Kaiba came down the stairs, leading a Mokuba and Ryou to lunch, Hermione gave him a dark glare. Kaiba didn't even pause when he saw the look, instead returning it with a sneer that made the Golden Trio think of Snape. Hermione turned away from him completely, cheeks flushing with anger.

Ryou smiled at Harry, waving to him briefly before following the Kaiba brothers into the kitchen. There was a moment's pause when suddenly Mokuba's incredulous voice rang through the closed door:

"_Five cakes_?! How many people are coming over tonight?"

"I doubt enough," Kaiba's drawl came next. Someone sighed.

"Well," Ryou's soothing voice murmured, "at least we know that everyone will have something they like…"

Harry gave Ron a questioning glance as Marik and Yami rushed over to the kitchen to inspect the cakes. The redhead smiled sheepishly. "Mom's throwing you a '_Get Out of Jail Free_' party. Or something like that."

Harry smirked at Hermione, who smiled sheepishly. "Yes, I suggested the party's title."

And Harry laughed, long and hard, and it was that noise that set the two other teens at ease at long last.

* * *

The party was small, despite the large amount of cake that the matron Weasley baked. They sat on a table in varying amount of disarray on the left-hand side of the dining room. Remus, Sirius, Arthur, Tonks, Molly, Dung, Alastor, and even Snape were all there, though Snape looked as though someone had fed him several lemons and then stuffed smelling salt up his nose before he arrived.

Harry was sitting in the back, playing with Exploding Snap cards with Ron. Fred and George were conversing with Dung, as they had at random intervals throughout the stay at Grimmauld Place, exchanging jangling bags of wizarding funds for odd boxes of dubious safeness. Ginny and Hermione were playing with Crookshanks in a corner, flicking bottle caps at the orange fluff ball and watching him chase them.

Marik and Kaiba were currently glaring at each other from across a table, decks in hand and shuffling their cards. Yami was watching the exchange with interested eyes, through which Yugi was watching, too. Mokuba was stationed at his brother's side, exchanging barbs with the blonde Egyptian on his brother's behalf.

Ryou sat at the table, too, but his eyes were currently skimming over the Occlumency text, and scribbling the hints from the section onto a piece of parchment that he'd brought to the party with him. He paused only to nibble on the slice of vanilla cake with frosting that changed colors.

"Don't you ever stop, Ryou?" a voice interrupted Ryou's scribing. He looked up, lifting the quill, and smiled at Ginny, who had chased a bottle cap that went wild in their play.

"Only when I must. We were just given a whole new course to look over," Ryou said simply. When Ginny raised an eyebrow, he continued, "It's a type of magic that should help with our sensitivity to the Neo-Magic."

"Oh…" she said before looking over at the group of boys who were finally starting their duel. "Then why aren't they helping?"

"We're taking turns writing down the important things. Then we're sharing it."

"That's a great idea! Who came up with it?"

Ryou flushed, ducking his head slightly. He fiddled with the quill for a moment before answering.

"I-I did."

Ginny grinned at him, slapping him on the back overenthusiastically. "Great job, Ryou!"

Unprepared, Ryou jerked forward, grabbing onto the table edge to keep from slamming his chest into it. However, his quill snapped in the midst of it. Ginny gasped, pulling back and wincing. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright," Ryou said with a grin, placing the broken pieces of the quill on the table. Marik looked over his shoulder to see what the problem was. He saw the quill and sent Ryou a mock-reproachful look.

"Don't think you can get out it that easily, Ryou! You'll just have to find yourself another quill!"

Ryou smiled and nodded at him. "If I must."

"We insist," Marik chirped. Ryou shook his head and rose to his feet. He smiled at Ginny brightly.

"Be back in a minute."

"There's an old writing desk in the drawing room that might still have some quills if you want to just go there quick," Ginny offered, and Ryou nodded.

"Thanks."

With that, he left the dining room and traversed up the stairs from the ground floor to the first floor. He paused for a moment before deciding to check out the writing desk- if there was anything of use in it, might as well use it up. The room was considerably friendlier- the boxes under the sofa were gone, and the curtains no long buzzed. The room felt… nicer to be in. Ryou, considerably lighter in spirit, turned to the black writing desk in the corner.

It was a simple writing desk, with four thin legs that ended in the heads of serpents. The chair was a random one, black but not matching, that had been thrown under it for appearance's sake. It had a hood with a single metal knob to open and close it. Ryou reached forward and pulled open the hood. He frowned, reaching into the darkness and groping around for a quill.

A noise behind him caused Ryou to turned around and take a few steps forward to peer around the room. "Hello?" Ryou called, brows furrowing as he looked towards the door. "Anyone?"

"Hello Yadonushi."

Ryou felt the blood drain from his face as the voice reached his ears. He stiffened, eyes widening in horror. He then clamped them shut, shaking his head. "No, no, no…" he whispered, "you _aren't there_!"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, causing Ryou to stumbled away from the Spirit of the Ring, who had materialized behind him. The yami mirrored his hikari in all physical aspects except for his eyes, which were a dark, bloody red. A sadistic grin played across his pale face as the knife in his right hand twirled around his fingers.

"Of course I am, Yadonushi. You honestly thought the _Pharaoh_ could save you from me?" He leaned forward, staring down in the doe-brown eyes. "I own you," he hissed, taking a step before lunging, blade flashing through the air.

* * *

"Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attacks your life points directly!"

Yami was frowning at Marik. "Marik, what was _that_? That was over far too quickly."

Marik glared at the spirit before groaning, burying his head into his hands. "Shut up! You and that Ra-damned Dragon!"

Kaiba sneered. "Funny, considering you used to own the Winged _Dragon_ of _Ra_."

Marik opened his mouth to say more, but then a loud thump shook the floor above them. All eyes turned to the ceiling, including Mad-Eye's magical one. He was on his feet an instant later.

"The white-haired boy's bein' attacked by what looks like a copy of himself! How'd he get in here?!"

Card games forgotten, Marik, Kaiba, Mokuba, and Yami fled the room quickly followed by Harry and Ron, the rest of the Order right on their tails. Harry and Ron knew the layout better, and were able to lead the other teens into the drawing room. Once there, they were greeted by a truly horrifying sight.

Yami Bakura held Ryou tightly around his throat with his left hand, the smaller teen's feet dangling in the air as he clawed desperately at his yami's hands. The attacker's right hand held a bloody knife, and Harry could see Ryou's left upper arm gush crimson through a slice in his green long-sleeved shirt.

Ryou gurgled helplessly, and the yami laughed, turning to grin at the spectators, flashing his far-too-large canines. His eyes locked onto Harry, however, and with a careless flick of his arm, Ryou was sent crashing to the floor, gasping for air. He stepped forward, and suddenly Yami Bakura's body began to shift and mold and alter. Lupin's eyes widened.

"It's a Boggart! Harry, get back-"

Harry stumbled back, bumping into Mokuba and sending him toppling into the adults. However, it was too late; the Boggart had already taken the form of a large, cloaked ghoul with decaying hands. Harry paled in shock as his eyes lost focus. Someone screamed behind him.

"No, father, please!" Marik wailed in Egyptian, dropping to his knees and clawing at his shoulders, eyes clenched shut as he thrashed.

Yami was still as death, having thrust Yugi back to his soul room and locked the door, saving him from the creature's wrath. Images of men rushing forward towards death- a large shadow standing over him- red eyes glowing in darkness- a searing pain in his chest, as though he was being _split in two_-

Kaiba flinched as memories of his adoptive father, Gozaburo Kaiba, raced through his head, feelings of switches, palms, and fists echoing over his skin. He stood still, focusing on what his _eyes_ were telling him.

Ryou curled into himself, sobbing as he held his injured arm to his chest. He remembered the force against his body as the other vehicle impacted his mother's car on the driver's side. He remembered breaking his arm, he remembered the blood that wasn't his own, but that of his mother.

… And his sister.

The torture ended quickly, though it felt like far too long to those under the worse effects, when Lupin stepped forward, turning the Boggart into a shining white sphere and then into nothing but white mist. Kaiba was the first to recover, followed swiftly by Yami who rushed to Marik's side. The blonde's face was streaked with tears and he grabbed onto Yami's shoulders when the spirit knelt beside him.

"I told him _no_," he moaned, digging his nails into Yami's shoulders. "I said no! I could feel it… happening again…" he rasped shakily. Fury shone brilliant in his lavender eyes. "Why would Father do that to me?! Why…?"

He collapsed onto Yami's shoulder, holding him tightly as he attempted to compose himself. Yami merely stroked his hair, red flecked violet eyes narrow as he glared at hole into the floor. "He had no right," he murmured softly, his voice deep and soothing. "No matter what, he had _no right_."

Kaiba, meanwhile, was crouched next to Ryou, staring at the teen. The albino had curled into himself once he'd gotten to his knees, cradling his bleeding arm to his chest. Kaiba's eyes were narrow as he gently squeezed Ryou's uninjured shoulder.

"You're fine," he said simply. "He's gone."

Ryou nodded, closing his eyes as he climbed to his feet, Kaiba assisting him as he wobbled before gaining his balance. Snape came forward and clutched Ryou's shoulder as he inspected the stab wound, either not noticing or ignoring the hiss of pain when he did. He waved his wand over the wound, and it began to seal itself until it was merely a tender scar.

"May I ask _who_ your attacker was supposed to be?" Snape said, and drew the attention of the adults who were distributing pieces of chocolate cake to everyone. Ryou admired the scar for several long seconds before allowing his dark, somber eyes to meet the Potion Master's.

"A ghost," he said softly, grabbing his arm, bowing his head, and shuffling out of the room. Marik brushed past the few adults attempting to get to him and followed. Yami smiled to them, nodding his head as he left. Kaiba glanced down at his hand, covered in Ryou's blood. He sighed before walking forward, Mokuba quickly falling in step behind.

As the last of the foreign wizards left, Molly gathered Ron and Harry and dragged them from the room, mumbling about how they shouldn't rush off into danger like that. Tonks found herself staring at the door. She shook her head, and Alastor grumbled behind her.

"There's something odd about this whole damn thing," the ex-Auror announced. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"I _knew_ a Sherlock, boy, and _he_ would have said the same thing!"

Arthur rushed between the two men before an argument could start. "Now, now. We don't want to fight ourselves now that we've got something to go on, do we?"

At the blank looks from some of the others, Remus stepped forward. "Obviously there is something they aren't telling us. People aren't afraid of themselves without proper cause. Nor do they claim to be in pain about something their own _father_ did to them. There's a past there, one far darker than we probably realized…"

"Or maybe," Tonks finally spoke, hair flaring to a vibrant shade of pink, "it's just covered in shadows."

Alastor rolled his good eye, the other trained through the ceiling as he watched the group closely. "Shadow Magic, Dark Magic- is there really a difference anyway?"

And no one could answer him.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: Ryou's Boggart is his Yami. OMG, SHOCKER, right? Probably not, but I know _I'd_ be scared of my own shadow is I was ever possessed by a spirit like Yami Bakura. Speaking of him, don't worry- he'll make an appearance eventually. On a different note, this party was made to take the place of the 'Ron's a Prefect' party. Oh, there's still a party, but I won't go into detail about it.

**CHAPTER TITLE**: Judicium - _trial_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ The Weasleys attempt to weasel information from Ryou and Marik about their pasts. The booklists arrive at long last! And is Ryou merely jumpy from his last experience with the Boggart/Dementor, or is there something else bothering him?_


	10. Domito

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix , but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai_ and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hey, the next chapter at last! And a big THANK YOU to Aibu for pointing out that Egyptian is _not_ a language. I can't _believe_ I didn't catch that!

_Also_: Anyone know any good sites that give tips on writing out card game duels? I want to make them happen, but I don't have the talent for it. I mean, I'll have _other_ games, but the dueling is such an impressive bit in the shows… I don't want to screw it up. _Any_ assistance would be wonderful.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN:  
****DOMITO**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Harry's trial is over, and during the celebration Ryou ran into a boggart, which became _him_. Then it became a dementor, eliciting a curious response from Marik…_

* * *

"Ryou, did you know that talking about your fears can ease their severity?"

"That's nice, Hermione."

"I don't want to press…"

"But you _are_ anyway."

"Ryou, please, you should really talk about this…"

"No thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"Ryou-"

"_No thank you_, either of you. And tell the rest of the Order that I have _no_ desire to explain myself to them."

--

"Marik?"

"Huh?"

"You know that it can-"

"Mister Lupin, as… _grateful_ as I am for you doing this, you haven't spoken to me _once_ by myself before this. Why would I give my secrets to you?"

"I'm sorry Marik. If you believe me… I told them it was a bad idea."

"I'm sure you did. Now, if you could just go back and tell them to _leave Ryou and me __**alone, **__for the love of Ma'at_!"

* * *

Ryou sat quietly, head bowed, on is his bed in the room he shared with the Kaibas. He closed his eyes and began to clear his mind. It was an exercise that he had started the day after the boggart attack, mostly because the questions rained down on him and Marik and it was putting a strain on his already frayed emotional stability.

Occlumency could be used to sort through emotions until the feelings could be dealt with later- a skill he'd come to appreciate during the moments that Mad-Eye Moody bore down on him and Ryou would have liked nothing more than to sick his yami on the bastard. That, and apparently there was something called 'Legilimency,' which could be used to _read minds_.

Funny how no one mentioned _that_ lovely tidbit.

The five minutes expanded to ten, and then to fifteen. Once a half-hour had passed, Ryou opened his eyes and took a breath, feeling relieved and freer than he had before he had begun. The rest of the group had begun to follow his example, although some took to it better than others: Kaiba was able to sit still and mediate for an hour before he 'woke up;' Marik could sit still for fifteen minutes, twenty on a good day (which were few and far between with the Order's Inquisition hounding him). Yugi and Yami…

Ryou smirked, remembering the first time they'd tried to clear their mind completely…

* * *

_Yugi sat on his bed, facing the incorporeal spirit of the of Puzzle, both of them with their heads bowed and eyes closed. Ryou and Marik were sitting quietly in the corner, reading some of the notes they'd taken. It was pure silence for five minutes._

"_Waah!"_

Thump!

_Ryou and Marik jumped, spinning around and staring at Yami, corporeal and on the floor. Yugi hovered over him in spirit form. Yami slowly rose to his feet, staring at his hands as if they were something new. Marik looked at him._

"_Pharaoh…?"_

"_We… switched without even thinking about it!" Yami said, turning and looking at them. "I almost had my mind clear, but there was something pressing in on my mind, and I tried to get away from it…"_

"…_And then we switched," Yugi finished, setting down on the floor and looking over at the two other Barers. Ryou slapped his forehead._

"_Of course," Ryou said, shaking his head. "You two would never be able to clear your minds, because of the connection. You'd have to first be rid of the link, and _then_ you'd be able to do it."_

_Yami groaned, sitting on the bed. "We'll just have to find another way."_

"_Do it soon," Marik said, glancing over at a magic calendar hanging next to the door, on which the date 'August 23__rd__' flashed, "you have little more than a week before we head to Hogwarts."_

_Yami moaned, falling backwards. Yugi looked just as displeased._

* * *

They'd done it, though, a mere three days later. Yami merely used Shadow Magic, which automatically repelled the Neo Magic, to create a 'shield' around their soul rooms. It was several times more effective than the Occlumency, but it was draining and the Puzzle glowed for the duration of the shield's existence. Nonetheless, the other Shadow Mages quickly took up the art of the mental shielding to supplement their own Occlumency.

Ryou stretched, feeling his spine pop and crack as he did. Booger let out a small squeak from the pile of cloth that Ryou had turned into the creature's bed. Ryou smiled at the tiny ball of green fluff, walked over to him, and picked him up. Two large, black eyes stared expectantly at the albino teen, and Ryou quickly began to toss the small ball into the air, catching him as he fell back down. Jubilant squeals of glee filled the air, and Ryou chuckled at the tiny creature.

"So _that's_ what making the noise."

Ryou jolted, nearly dropping Booger in his fright. He glared half-heartedly over his shoulder at Harry, who was grinning at his displeasure. Ryou cupped Booger in his hands, turning around and looking at the raven-haired teen.

"Good afternoon, Harry," Ryou said simply with a small smile. His eyes betrayed the fact that he was not interested in any sort of 'talk' that would include is boggart or the dementor. Harry nodded back.

"Afternoon. How's the meditation going?"

Ryou smiled at him, shrugging slightly. "It's better than I thought, actually. A little boring, but it keeps my temper at bay."

Harry flushed slightly, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Ryou, look, I'd like to apologize about how they've treated you these couple of weeks." Ryou's eyes widened, shock written plainly across his face. Harry smiled at the look. "I understand why you don't want to talk, and I can't fault you for it."

A distant look entered Harry's eyes and he turned to look at the bunk bed. "Last summer, something happened… Voldemort returned. I was there." He looked over at Ryou, and the white-haired teen merely leaned his head to the side. Harry continued. "I wasn't alone, though. I was supposed to be, but Cedric Diggory came along, too. They… they killed him."

Ryou's eyes softened and he turned to look at his hands, where Booger was resting gently in his right. Harry watched him, curious, until Ryou looked back up at Harry, brown eyes dark with misery. "My mother, sister and I were in a car crash when I was ten. The other vehicle impacted on the driver's side. My arm was broken, but my mother and sister died on impact. That's… that's what I saw."

Harry smiled at him, a sad, desperate smile, and ran a hand through his tangled mess of black hair. "I won't tell them, you know. I'd never do that to you. My story is printed all over the papers, and they're calling me crazy and power-hungry. I get that you want privacy, so I won't pry." His bright emerald gaze hardened. "Do you talk with your friends, at least?"

Ryou nodded, smiling shyly at his hands. "Yes. They know all about my past, so it's easier to get it started. We haven't had much time recently, you know. We've been studying Occlumency like crazy…"

Harry walked over to the end table where _Behind the Mind: An Overview of Occlumency_ lay. He opened the book, eyeing it with curiosity. "You said," he began hesitantly; "it helps with your temper?"

"Yes. It allows you to shove away the emotions for a little while, and gives you a clear mind to think." Ryou tapped a finger from his left hand on the book that Harry was holding, eyes bright and a small smile on his face. "This has kept me from my murderous impulses ever since the boggart incident."

Harry cringed, looking away. "I'm sorry for that."

"Not your fault," Ryou said, absentmindedly rubbing his throat. There had been bruises for days after the attack. Harry smiled weakly before turning back to the book in his hands.

Ryou watched him for a moment longer before he spoke; "You might just want to read our notes. The book itself has a lot of information, but it's… how did Kaiba put it? '_It's smothered by useless crap_.'"

Ryou wandered over to the pile of papers and pulled out a spiral notebook that he and Kaiba had been using to re-write their notes in. Face slightly flushed, he held it out to Harry, smiling. "Take care of it, okay?"

Harry took it and gingerly opened the book, inspecting the first page. "Won't you need it?"

"No, we're taking this week off to just concentrate on clearing our minds to strengthen our Occlumency shields, so I won't need it for a while," Ryou said, pushing the loose papers into a neater pile with his empty hand. "When we get to Hogwarts, we're going to use a spell to copy the pages so we won't have to write it all over again. I can get you a copy, but only if you take care of this one."

Harry nodded, glancing up and watching Ryou for several moments. "Sounds like a plan." Harry began moving towards the door before pausing and turning around, eyes dark with annoyance. "Ryou, everyone is planning on ganging up on you and Marik tonight at dinner. Me, Lupin, and Sirius have tried to talk them out of it. Heck, even _Snape_ thinks it stupid to waste so much time trying to pry. Warn your friends."

Ryou smiled brightly at him, nodding. "Thank you Harry."

"No problem Ryou. See you at dinner."

Ryou watched Harry leave the room before sitting down, smiling softly at Booger. "Harry's a nice guy," he said softly, earning a small squeak from the fluffy creature. Ryou blushed heavily, rubbing his face and thanking the Gods for Occlumency. "I believe I have a fan-boy crush on him."

Booger gave the white-haired teen his most sympathetic squeak.

* * *

"So, dinner is going to be awkward tonight?"

After Ryou made the announcement that the household was planning on cornering them, there had been silence. Marik, however, was able to break it. The Egyptian had lost a little weight since the incident, mostly because he fled the dinner table as soon as people started to question him. His lavender eyes were narrow, but a glint of amusement glowed in them, as if he found the entire situation funny rather than annoying. Ryou smiled at him.

"That's what I would assume."

The white-haired teen had kept his new-found crush a secret, since nothing would come of it anyway. As it were, he was just glad to actually have Harry's friendship- without it; they would have never been prepared for the confrontation. Not that it would have mattered anyway- the group practically lived by thinking on their feet. They might have stumbled for a few minutes, but they would gather themselves to finish.

Yami stood from the bed, once again in control of the body. He turned is violet eyes, speckled with red blotches, around the room before smirking. "Well," he began, "at least you three will get a chance to use your Occlumency once again."

Marik lifted his arms in a mock of the wave, his face wiped clean of any emotion. "Woo. Hooray for suppressing our emotions."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, frowning. His blue eyes swung over to the white-haired teen that stood fidgeting, twisting his fingers in his hands. He raised an eyebrow at him. "Nervous, Bakura?"

Ryou flushed once again before clamping down on his feelings with Occlumency and shoving them to the back of his mind where he'd deal with them later. He immediately stopped twiddling his fingers and turned back to Kaiba.

"Yes, actually. I'm still not completely convinced that none of them are Legilimens. Just… _please_ don't make eye contact for more than a few seconds."

Kaiba huffed, but nodded nonetheless. Marik flashed him a grin, nodding. Yami gave Ryou a small smile. "Yugi promises not to as well. I have no desire to see which mind a Legilimens would break into if they tried."

Marik tugged at his Necklace frowning slightly. Yami raised an eyebrow at his antics. The blonde shrugged. "I've been trying to get a vision with it for a couple of days. It'll show me stupid things, like what the weather will be or what shirt Ryou is planning on putting on, but never the important stuff."

"'Important stuff?'"

"Like when I'm going to be accosted so I can avoid them."

Yami looked at the Necklace for a moment. "So it hasn't shown you anything about the dinner tonight?"

"We're having honeyed ham, peas, and cheesy mashed potatoes if that helps anyone," Marik said dully with a shrug. Kaiba snorted, nodding his head and earning a glare from Marik.

"What about desert?"

"Shut up, Kaiba."

* * *

Marik was right about both predictions- the honeyed ham was cooked to perfection, but dinner was incredibly awkward. This was mostly due to Marik's influence, however. It seemed if the Order of the Phoenix was going to make his friends uncomfortable, then he'd return the favor. Marik would smile at everyone at the table and lavished his thanks unto Mrs. Weasley for cooking the meal. Then he would turn to Ryou and smile softly at the teen, and the white-haired youth would smile back at him. Harry was choking on his honeyed ham whenever he caught sight of the two, and Snape- having been roped into the affair as well- looked decidedly amused.

As the dinner slowed down, the brief conversations around them trickled to a halt, until at last everyone had their forks and knives lying on the sides of their plates. Marik was sitting, smiling at those who dared to look at him. Finally, Mrs. Weasley could take no more and she folded her arms in front of her, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Now, I know that you don't want to talk about it," she began, lightly at first, "but we are all concerned about you."

Snape scoffed silently, crossing his arms and glaring down his nose at the wizards. "Don't lie to them now, Mrs. Weasley. _I_ don't care."

Marik smiled, an honest smile, at the Professor, making the greasy-haired man blink in confusion at the teen. "Thank goodness," the blonde said in a quiet voice, "we've still got that semblance of normalcy."

"Marik, this isn't a joke," Mrs. Weasley tried again. "We just want to make sure that you are completely alright. Having horrible memories thrown to the forefront of your mind by dementors, especially if you'd buried them away, can leave permanent damage. Right, Professor?"

Mrs. Weasley's fierce ginger gaze landed on the black-eyed Potions Master. Snape scowled before nodding, turning his eyes upon Marik. "It can, if these memories were deeply buried."

Marik flinched, turning his gaze away from them and glaring at the corner of the kitchen. "Some memories don't fade away." His eyes darted over to Harry's emerald gaze before they rose and focused on his scar. "Sometimes they're there for good."

Harry automatically, ducked his head, brushing his fringe to hide the lightning-shaped scar. Snape watched the exchange before nodding to himself. "Then there would be no problems, granted it's a permanent as you are leading up to assume."

Marik's eyes darkened as he turned his gaze to the table, shaking his head slightly. Yugi turned his gaze away, and Yami was completely silent through their mind link. "It is quite permanent."

Ryou watched the exchange, and as Mrs. Weasley was about to request that Marik's scars be shown, he placed his head into his hands, shaking his head. When he felt their gazes turn to him, including Marik's startled and relieved one, Ryou began to tug on his white bangs.

"_I can't take it anymore!_" he cried. "It's _me_," he moaned softly into his palms, "my boggart is _me_."

Yugi flinched, hand jerking forward to either stop him or comfort him- what was Ryou doing?!

/ Yami! Can you hear-?! /

/ Yes, / the spirit replied, / I hope he knows what he's doing. /

/ Should I stop him?! /

/ Only if we must. I doubt Ryou would give away anything of importance. /

Yugi patted Ryou's wrist weakly, and Kaiba was staring at the albino's bowed head. Marik was making urgent noises to try and halt him. Ryou, however, continued on.

"When I was younger I used to play games with my friends from school," he said shakily, lifting his head to peer at the table with woeful eyes. "I'd always wish that they could stay and play with me forever. And… they'd fall asleep while we would play…" Ryou's arms dropped into his lap, his eyes closing. "They never woke up. They slipped into comas, and they won't ever wake up."

Yugi felt the gnawing panic reside immediately. Ryou was telling the tale of his yami, yes, but an… altered version. One the adults could work with. Snape had leaned backwards, staring at the teen with an unreadable expression. Alastor had unconsciously gripped his wand in his pocket. Harry's eyes widened with horror, while Ron was looking slightly green. Hermione was staring at her hands. Mrs. Weasley looked mortified, and she shook her head.

"Ryou, you can't possibly believe-"

Ryou dropped his head, shaking it slightly. "It was my fault… and while it never happened while I was in Japan, I keep wondering if maybe… it might happen again…"

Yugi knew that fear was a very real one, and a very real possibility. He reached over and squeezed Ryou's wrist, and Ryou looked over at him, real fear glowing in their brown depths. Yugi merely smiled at him, and Ryou gave him a faint smile back. He exhaled, and turned back to the group. The fear was still there, still churning beneath the surface.

"I don't feel any better," he mumbled after a moment. He rose on shaky legs, unconsciously gripping the back of his chair. He kept his gaze low. "I… I'm heading to bed. Th-thank you for the meal, Mrs. Weasley. Good night, everyone."

Without a backward glance, Ryou fled the kitchen. Yugi stared after his friend, before turning his narrowed, and suddenly maroon, gaze upon the Order members. He rose, graceful and dangerous and _angry_.

"I suppose you feel you've accomplished a great deed just now, hmm?" he said, baritone voice sharp and deadly. "You've trespassed against the souls of my friends," he said with a glare. Mokuba, recognizing the statement, reached over and grabbed the Pharaoh's arm. "Yugi…"

Yami's eyes flashed over to the youngest member of the group. Yugi phased into existence next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. His violet eyes stared hard into the side of his yami's face.

/ Yami… / he began softly, / Don't do something we'll all regret later. /

The dark side of Yugi glared at the tabletop before turning his fierce red-and-violet gaze upon those at the table. / I won't… this time. But, if they continue this affront, I _will_ give them a reason to badger us. /

The spirit stepped away from Mokuba's grasp, keeping his narrow eyes on the group. The Puzzle flashed angrily around his neck, and the Pharaoh swept his eyes through the crowd. "We are only here for two more days. On Sunday, we will be on the train, and you will no longer have to worry about our well beings. I request you leave us to ourselves for the rest of our stay."

Alastor Moody merely grunted, placing more of his weight on his walking stick as he leaned forward and over the table. "And what if we don't?"

The three remaining shadow magic users all glanced at one another before turning back to the group. Kaiba and Marik both rose to their feet, Mokuba rising after. Yami looked over at Harry, noticing the slightly worried gaze for the first time. He swiftly looked back at the ex-Auror, patting his hip where is deck holder lay. He smirked.

"We'll play a game," he said, though his eyes promised something far more insidious than just a simple card game.

The group of four swiftly left, not bothering to watch the faces of those in the room as they grew steadily darker.

* * *

"Hey," Harry said softly, peaking around the door way and into Yugi and Marik's room where the group was studying; he held up four letters, "our booklists have arrived. Mokuba already has his."

The next day had arrived quicker than was expected. While there was a certain coldness to the five foreigners from nearly everyone, Harry, still feeling the bitter sting of having no information given to him (and being unable to pick up anything more from the Order), sympathized with the group. Yugi looked up at the green-eyed teen and smiled at him, gesturing for him to come it.

"Really? Great!"

"Mrs. Weasley already left to go pick up the books, since Hermione is sharing all of your classes," Harry supplied as he handed each of them their letters. "Fred and George were telling us the other day that the Ministry passed some law that allows them to hire teachers positions that Dumbledore can't fill. They must've gotten a new defense teacher, then."

Kaiba grunted, eyeing the list in his hand. "'_Defensive Magical __**Theory**_?' I've taken theory courses before," the brunet grumbled, "and if this is the same thing, it doesn't' mean anything good."

Harry frowned at the teen, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Theory classes are all about the text- not about practice or application." Harry merely looked confused at this statement, so Kaiba sighed, rolling his eyes, and tried to simplify. "We'll be reading, not actually using magic. It'll teach us what's behind the spells, but not actually how to use them." He glanced distastefully at the list of books.

Harry's jaw dropped, and he mimicked a fish for several seconds before he growled low in his throat, glaring to the side. Ryou looked over at Kaiba, a white eyebrow raised.

"Couldn't we just order a second book that'll teach us how to do the spells?"

Marik stretched out, looking at Ryou out of the corner of his eye. "You mean _willingly_ subject ourselves to more reading _on top of_ what we're already doing to catch up?"

"Yup."

"Thoth's graces…"

At mention of his name, Yugi and Yami's owl peaked up from his perk, giving a haughty hoot to the blond. The orange-eyed bird took flight and landed on Yugi's shoulder, eliciting a wince from the teen when his talons dug into the shirt there. Harry smirked slightly, turning a green eye to the spiky-haired teen.

"I thought Thoth was your bird's name? Why would you want his graces?" the young wizard asked. Yugi chuckled, stroking the black speckled head.

"Thoth is also the Egyptian God of wisdom, learning, and magic; he's a messenger God. He takes the form of either an ibis, or a baboon," the violet-eyed teen said, smiling wistfully. Harry watched him silently for a moment.

"You… really believe in those Gods," Harry said in a soft tone. Yugi nodded, Ryou smiled, and Marik snorted.

"Believe in, worship- my entire family has," the lavender eyed teen said. Kaiba shrugged.

"I don't really care," he said simply. Marik reached across the bed to poke the CEO in the side, causing the brunet to wince and glare at the blond. The Egyptian gave him a wicked grin.

"We'll convert you by the end of the year!"

"Or I'll kill you. Whatever comes first."

Harry snickered into his hand, and shook his head at their antics. "Have I told you lately that you're all crazy?"

"Not lately," Marik chirped, reaching out to stroke the grey Maine Coon laying on his pillows. Harry could only shake his head, smiling, at them.

"Maybe I should say it more often."

Suddenly, several loud _thunking_ noises reached their ears as someone raced up the stairs. Harry stepped away from the door as Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway. She smiled slightly as she nodded to Harry and stepped past him and further into the room.

"The Headmaster just fire-called," she began, missing the stricken look that darted across Harry's face that the other four caught, "he wanted us to let you know that your first-year equivalency test will be next Saturday. That should give you time to actually test and use some of the spells." She turned to Harry, whose face had been wiped to a bland mask.

"Oh, and Harry?"

A flicker of hope darted through his green gaze.

"Alastor asked me to remind you to keep your invisibility cloak on you instead of your trunk."

Harry visibly deflated before nodding, turning to look at a pile of neatly stacked papers on a desk. "N-no problem, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good lad," she chirped. "Well, see you all at lunch, I hope."

With that, she left them to their own devices. Harry sighed, fiddling with one of the broken quills that lay in a pile on the nearby desk. Ryou leaned his head to the side slight, watching him.

"The Headmaster always seems to come whenever you aren't around, doesn't he?" the white-haired teen said, and Harry glared at his hands.

"So I'm not the only one to notice it," the raven-haired youth murmured, turning his vivid eyes upon Ryou. "He was at my hearing, you know. He defended me, practically saved me. But… he wouldn't look at me." Harry sighed, but there was a tightness to it that made Yugi frown. "I keep trying to figure out if I did something_ wrong_…"

Ryou shook his head swiftly, rising to his feet and walking over to Harry's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No, you've done nothing wrong."

"How can you tell?" Harry said, tone snappish and defensive. Ryou merely shrugged, smiling.

"You're soul feels too pure for you to have done something so horrible that it requires shunning."

Harry smiled back at him, but it never quite reached his eyes. He stepped away from Ryou's grasp and backed towards the door.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

Harry gave them a stiff nod and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: I dislike how very short this chapter is. It's purpose was mainly to create tension between the two parties- the Shadow Mages and the Order of the Phoenix. Also, a little Harry-angst and some fanboy-crushing on Ryou's part makes it a bit more fun. The next chapter is going to be _much_ better, promise!

_Also_: Harry isn't yet learning _real_ Occlumency, merely the emotional-stabilizing part. I don't like writing ANGRY!Harry, so this was a nice and simple fix for me to do so. Forgive me for that, won't you?

**CHAPTER TITLES**: DOMITO - _to break (in)_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ Time for the train to leave! The gang meets new friends: Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and… Draco Malfoy?!_


	11. Adventura

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Chapter Eleven is _up_! Sorry for the wait- college and such. I hope this doesn't disappoint. Still pleading for someone to give me some assistance with writing Duel Monster duels- still sucking and still too scared to try it!

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:  
ADVENTURA**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Ryou's crushing on Harry. The Order pushed the Shadow Mages too far too many times, and now there is very little going on between them. Occlumency shields are working well- except for Yugi and Yami. Threats were issued, as were books. It was a busy few days._

* * *

Maroon eyes were bright with mirth as they watched his host and the other occupant of their shared room rush around as they tried to stuff the last of the books they borrowed from Hermione back into the trunk. Yami chuckled softly as he hovered in a corner of the ceiling. Yugi shot him a pouting look before the violet-eyed teen slammed the trunk closed. Marik sagged in relief against it.

"There!" the blond said. "Now that the book crisis has been averted, we should probably try to get all of these trunks downstairs."

The trio glanced around the room, spying the three trunks and the fact that between them were only two sets of hands. Yugi exhaled, tapping the top of Hermione's book trunk.

"Bring this one down first. It's not ours. No one else should have to be late because _we_ slept in a little too much."

"Not my fault!" Marik immediately said, even as he grabbed one handle. When Yugi rolled his eyes as he grabbed the other handle, Marik continued. "_You_ rolled over and turned off the alarm!"

"Hey! At least _I_ woke up!"

Yami rolled his eyes, floating out behind them as they left their room. "Stop arguing," he grumbled, eyeing the staircase. "I don't want either of you breaking your necks."

"But mostly Yugi, right?"

"Yes. So you're going down first."

Marik stopped short, turning around and glaring at where Yami hovered a few feet away from him. "Hey! I'm _not_ going first! I have more upper arm strength so _I_ should go down _last_!"

"Who're you talking to Marik?"

The blond yelped, dropping his end of the trunk onto his toes, causing him to shriek in pain. Yugi started, jumping away from his end of the trunk and dropping it in shock, making Marik yelp once more. Yami howled with laughter, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. Had Marik not had an audience and probably broken toes, he would have chewed the Pharaoh a new one.

As it were, however, George quickly rushed forward, whipping out his wand and levitating the trunk off Marik's toes as Fred grabbed and steadied Marik as the blond sagged backwards in relief. Yugi stumbled through several apologies in several different languages, some of which were for Yami who was too busy trying to breathe to do so for himself.

"I'm fine, Yugi," the Egyptian said through gritted teeth as he glanced down at his feet. Far too used to not wearing socks, his bare feet showed signs of already bruising and he gasped when he wiggled his toes, black spots appearing in his vision. "Ow."

"Jeez, Marik! If we had known _that_ would happen-" George began, setting the trunk on the ground as Fred helped Marik take a seat against the wall.

"-We would have cast a feather-light charm on your trunk first," Fred finished.

Marik eyed the twins darkly, lavender eyes narrow. "That makes me feel much better, thanks." He looked at his toes, frowning. "Are they broken?"

"Not sure," Fred admitted, and poked one with his wand, earning a hiss and punch from Marik. "But I'd hazard a guess that that one is."

George poked another, making Marik squawk and pull his feet away from them, whimpering in distress. "And that one. I'll get Moody."

"What?!" Marik squeaked, earning twin looks of amusement. "He'll probably use this as an excuse to interrogate me!"

George frowned, tapping his chin. He nodded sagely. "That he would. I'll get Lupin instead."

With that, the twin left the trio. Fred then looked over at Marik with a searching gaze. "So, what invisible person were you talking to? It sounded like you were having a conversation with someone about Yugi, but not with Yugi." Marik opened his mouth to lie, but Fred gave him a blank look. "You don't monologue for that long to nothing."

Marik paled, turning his eyes upon Yugi, who stilled immediately and began to stare anywhere but at Fred. The second twin raised an eyebrow but lifted his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Alright, alright- I get it. _Super secret_. Shadow Magic stuff I assume?" Yugi flinched, and Fred nodded. "Right. George will hear about this- don't kid yourselves- but other than that, you'll find we can be discrete."

Marik's eyes narrowed, but he extended his legs back out as a show of trust. "No one else has to know?" Fred nodded, and Marik leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. "What do you want in return?" he asked stiffly, still pale. Yugi slouched and Fred grinned wickedly.

"George and I are making these sweets…"

* * *

Ryou and the Kaiba brothers made their way down the stairs, trunks trailing behind them and making loud noises as they did. Fortunately, it seemed someone had looked up the Permanent Sticking Charm that was used to place Walburga Black's portrait on the wall it the first place and used it to stick the two halves of her curtains together, muffling her shouts to an ignorable level. Spying them, Yugi gestured for the three to place their trunks with the ever-growing pile of them close to the door. Heqet's tank sat next to Thoth's cage by the trunks. Hedwig and Pig both were caged as well, and sat silently next to them.

Ryou led Kaiba and Mokuba to where Marik and Yugi stood, close to the kitchen. The white-haired teen peered around, taking in that not all of the house's inhabitants were gathered in the hall.

"Where's Harry?" the albino asked, leaning over and whispering into Marik's ear. However, they were interrupted by Moody barging in from a side room, Arthur, Remus, and a strange woman following behind him.

"The fawn is out of the wood with the chameleon and the ermine are keeping watch," Moody uttered to the Order members, well within earshot of the teens. Marik, toes fixed thanks to Lupin's wand-waving, eyed the others who were standing around him, stroking a sleeping Sekhmet.

"Fawn?" he asked, and Hermione shrugged, holding her own cat loosely in her arms.

"Probably Harry's codename," she said seriously. Marik merely looked confused, and leaned over to whisper in Ryou's ear.

"Why would you call _Harry Potter_ a _fawn_?"

Ryou shrugged, watching as Moody pointed from where the group of Shadow Mages stood to where a regal-looking woman stood. Her harsh, silver eyes looked down at over her nose. She offered a stiff, yet friendly, smile to them, her long black ponytail swished behind her. Moody nodded.

"Right, Vance," he said as he addressed the woman with the well-defined and elegant face, "you'll be taking the goslings- ("Is he referring to us?!" "Marik…" "Yugi, I am not a _goose_!")- to the pond. Lupin, you'll take the mob. Weasley has the weasel and the mink. I'll be taking the gear."

George, Fred, and Ginny grinned widely, and George turned to Lupin. "Mob?"

The werewolf gave him a joking smile. "It's the name for a group of sheep."

Meanwhile, Ron grumbled darkly at his own codename, crossing his arms and glaring down at his feet. Marik snickered, and Ron turned swiftly on him. "What's so funny, Gosling?"

Marik sputtered indignantly, face flushing slightly. Ryou rolled his eyes, laying a hand on Marik's shoulder and giving Ron a withering look, ignoring Hermione's crinkled nose at his actions. Yugi, ever the pacifier, stepped in and pushed Mark and Ryou backwards slightly.

"Now, guys, we're about to go to school. I don't want Marik to have a black eye."

Marik scowled, eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously, as if the frustration from the past few weeks was threatening to come rushing out. "Somehow I doubt _I'd_ be the one with the black eye…"

Finally, Kaiba stepped in and struck Marik lightly on the head with the golden Rod, ruining his carefully styled hair. "Shut up. Don't be such a drama queen."

Marik growled, but smirked slightly and turned away. He ran a hand through his hair, straightening his long locks with a flick of his wrist. Yugi snorted, drawing a pair of confused lavender eyes to him. Yugi explained, smiling.

"How's the business going, _Duke_?"

Marik blinked a few times before rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes. Ha-ha. A Duke Devlin hair-flip. Shut up."

"Excuse me."

A soft, royal voice uttered cut through their conversation. The five foreigners turned around to see the lady called 'Vance' standing before them, silver eyes scanning over them. "I am Emmeline Vance, and I shall be your escort." Her eyes fell upon Yugi and the small backpack on his back. "Alastor has already said he will be carrying your luggage. Are you taking that with us?"

Yugi grabbed his shoulder straps tighter, and nodded. Within the black bag was the Millennium Ring- he wasn't about to let it out of his possession for _anything_. "Yeah. This… needs to stay with me."

Emmeline nodded, waving a well-manicured hand with long, sharp nails painted dark green dismissively. "Then I shall permit it." She smiled loftily at them. "Once we are outside, my code name is Goose."

Mad-Eye, overhearing their conversation, cleared his throat loudly. "Right. When you're talking about Vance, she's Goose and her group is the gaggle. Weasley is Stoat, and his group is the boogle. Lupin is Wether-" Lupin rolled his eyes at this, while Kaiba and Mokuba gave hearty snickers- "and his group is the mob. I'm Mule, and I'll be taking your things." Someone snickered, but Moody's mood suddenly turned fierce. "_No one but Order members are to mention Potter_."

His voice grew dangerous and the 'goslings' nodded quickly. Ron, the weasel, looked about to argue, but Hermione, the mink, grabbed his arm and gave him a stern glance. The redhead grumbled but nodded, glaring to the side. Moody kept his magical eye on him as he limped forward. "You don't have to like it. _Constant Vigilance_**!**"

Everyone jumped, and Emmeline Vance fussed with her hair that had become misplaced. Moody scowled at them and limped forward. "The words '_Harry,_''_Potter,_'or '_Fawn_' are not to be mentioned. At all. Nor the Millennium Items." His magical eye spun around to glare at Yugi, who looked down at his very-visible Puzzle. He grabbed it, holding it close to his chest before frowning.

"It's just a puzzle that my Grandfather gave me when I was younger," he snapped automatically, turning his body to the side while Yami seethed within his soul-room.

/ How dare he even _think_ to suggest we remove the Puzzle! / the Pharaoh growled, and Yugi could feel the indignation rolling off of the spirit. Yugi sent a wave of reassurance to him.

/ I won't let him. Don't worry. /

Yugi looked over at Moody, violet gaze narrow as if daring the ex-Auror to say anything. Moody merely smirked, nodding to him. "And don't forget it. Now, let's move out. Gaggle, get!"

Marik rolled his eyes, but smirked. "Honk honk," he said, shifting Sekhmet in his arms.

The group of five began to double check to make sure their wands and Items were all where they should be. Ryou peaked into the pocket of his blue windbreaker, and spotted Booger snoozing happily. Emmeline waved her hand for them to follow, and nodded to Moody.

"We shall take Route Blue, as instructed," she said loftily, and strode through the door. Ryou gave those behind him a weak wave and quickly shuffled out alongside Yugi, Marik trotting a few paces behind him. Kaiba followed along without a glance while Mokuba smiled brightly and waved good bye to his friends, and Ginny and the twins returned it with equal fervor.

The door was shut behind them, and Emmeline walked stiffly down the sidewalk, turning her head every which way. Marik gave Yugi a short glance and Yami phased into sight beside the shorter teen. The Pharaoh caught Ryou and Kaiba's attention by clearing his throat. They both quickly looked away and Yami sighed.

"Don't even think about reacting to this right now. Wait until we are alone," the spirit said, and Ryou's step faltered while Kaiba's eyebrow rose slightly. Yami exhaled.

"Fred and George are on to us. They overheard Marik arguing with me."

Kaiba's hand twitched backward, as if he was resisting the urge to reach around for the Rod and smack Marik with it again. Yami frowned at the CEO. "It's just as much my fault, Kaiba. They don't know exactly what we are doing, but they are blackmailing Marik and Yugi into testing some candies that they made. Make you ill and cure you after, or something. You guys don't have to worry about it."

Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose, turning his blue eyes to the sky while Ryou slouched a bit as he walked.

"Are… are we there yet?"

* * *

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to place four of the top five duelists in the world in one train station.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

"How do you get your hair that way!?"

"KAIBA! _I WANT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN_!!"

As the crowd surged forward, Yugi pressed himself flat against the wall, clutching the Puzzle tightly to his chest and Mokuba squished beside him. Kaiba was shielding both of them by pushing back at anyone who came close. Ryou and Marik hid behind Emmeline, who was discretely waving her wand from within her long sleeves to ward off the Muggles. She glanced behind her to where the white-haired teen stood.

"What is the meaning of this?" she gasped, a stray strand of hair falling into her face. Ryou pressed closer to Marik.

"We're… rather famous in some circles…" Ryou began and Marik rolled his eyes. "We've got obsessive fan girls… and fan boys," the blonde explained, eyeing one of them waving a deck through the air, "but I didn't know we had such a following in England."

"It's all Ryou's fault!" Mokuba exclaimed, peaking around the coattails of his brother. "_He's_ British! Of _course_ once one of the top duelists is British it'll catch on!"

Ryou squeaked, ducking back slightly. "I-I'm sorry!"

Suddenly the swarm seemed to stop as one and fall back, looking around confusedly before rushing away, exclaiming about how they'd miss their trains. Emmeline blinked, and then ran her hands through her hair to straighten it and to tame it once more, tying it back as she looked around. Her silver eyes latched onto someone in the crowd, and she offered them a small smile.

"Xenophilius," she exhaled, smiling slightly in obvious appreciation. "Oh, it _is_ good to see you! Were you the one to come to our rescue?"

The group of young wizards turned and looked as a man with white-blonde hair that was puffed out as though he'd been playing with electricity came over. He smiled easily, but his gaze was hard to keep- one eye stared at the group while the other strayed towards his nose. While the group was used to odd clothing choices, the sight of the man wearing robes that were covered in swirls of green and purple and red made their eyes hurt. As if he didn't realize their discomfort, he paused in front of them and nodded his head.

"Emmeline, it's been too long. I noticed that you were having a bit of a crowd-control problem, so I cast a simple Muggle Repelling Charm on this young boy here," he said, gesturing to Mokuba. "Handy Charm, that one. It will wear off before he even gets to Hogwarts."

Mokuba and Kaiba gave him scandalized and furious looks, respectfully, but he ignored them as he then turned his odd gaze upon Ryou and the others, distant and yet focused. "You four are those… Duel Monster Card champions, yes? Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Marik Ishtar, and Ryou Bakura?" His eyes fell upon Mokuba and nodded to the youngest of the group. "And Mister Mokuba Kaiba."

Mokuba's face cracked slightly into a small smile, but Kaiba's eyes merely narrowed. Yugi nodded faintly while Marik smirked, poking the tiny teen in the side. "Yugi here's the champion. We three just happen to be his stepping stones."

Xenophilius nodded slightly before turning to the side, exposing a young girl with straggly blonde hair and large, silver eyes that protruded slightly from her head. One hand was holding onto a trunk while the other held a magazine she was reading. She seemed completely absorbed by it, but looked up once her father stepped aside. "This is my daughter, Luna. She's the one who knows most about your game. Managed to see some of the Battle City Tournament when we went to Japan earlier in the year to look for the Kilbit."

The girl smiled in a distant sort of way, her large silver eyes were bulging slightly as she stared at Yugi for several long moments. Finally Marik cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So, uh… you duel?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," Luna finally said, turning her analyzing gaze upon the Egyptian. "I collect, mostly. I find the creatures on the cards quite fascinating. Do you suppose they exist, now or in the past at some point?"

Yugi's mouth dropped open, horrorstruck that someone actually had gotten it_ right_ but more shocked that she said it in such a serious manor. Kaiba rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to offer his scathing point of view, but Mokuba stepped in quickly.

"We've met the creator of the cards. He isn't a wizard, you know, so I doubt he'd be able to make cards based on things he saw," Mokuba said swiftly, and Yugi felt Yami chuckling in the back of his head about how smoothly the half truth fell off the eleven-year-old's tongue.

Luna turned her eyes upon Mokuba and nodded slowly. "I see," she said simply. The group looked around before moving towards the entrance to the platform. Yugi turned and looked at Luna, who had gone back to her magazine.

"So, um, Luna…?" Yugi began, and Luna once more lifted her head and stared at him. Yugi continued. "We just have to… walk through the wall, right? Nothing else?"

"Most of us just walk through the wall, but some of the first-years and Muggle-borns become far too nervous and end up sprinting through the wall. It has led to some collisions," she said conversationally. "Normally, we have to wait until all the Muggles stop looking at us, but thanks to Father it isn't a problem. Now that you have a Muggle Repelling Charm on you, you won't really have to worry about the Muggles noticing you." She must have noticed Yugi's unease because she then smiled at him. "You are still nervous about it." She never gave Yugi a chance to respond. "I'll go first, so you can watch."

Yugi smiled brilliantly at her, and Luna returned it just as brilliantly. Xenophilius paused just a few feet in front of the divider they were supposed to travel through and pulled his daughter into a hug, which she returned most eagerly. "Have a good year Luna. And make sure to ask around if anyone has seen any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks over their holidays. I'm working on that paper about their migration patterns, remember?"

Luna smiled at him. "Of course, father. I'll see you at Christmas break."

With that, she tightened her grip on her trunk and dragged it toward the divider and looked over at the group of wizards. "This is how it works," she said, and walked through the wall. Kaiba rubbed his eyes and stepped forward, pressing a hand against the wall, and watched his fingers push through. He glanced at the others and frowned.

"See you on the other side," he grunted, and stepped through. The four others quickly rushed through after, waving their goodbyes to Xenophilius. Emmeline came through last, and quickly dragged her group away from following after Luna and over to where Mrs. Weasley and Tonks were waiting with Harry, who looked pleased to see them.

"Emmeline!" Tonks cried, rushing forward and grinning at her. "So, you made it, huh?"

The regal-looking woman brushed down her robes. "We almost didn't," she said stiffly, eyeing the group of five wizards beside her. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened and Harry paled slightly. Emmeline waved her arm, rolling her eyes slightly. "Nothing as dramatic as that. Apparently, these five are quite famous in the Muggle World."

Marik flushed softly. "I didn't think we'd be so well-known here…"

Yugi merely exhaled sagging slightly. "We should have guessed. We just _aren't_ that lucky."

Emmeline continued. "Thankfully Xenophilius was there, and he cast a Muggle Repelling Charm on the youngest Mister Kaiba. I'm not quite sure where the idea of casting the Charm on the boy himself came from, however…"

Molly shrugged lightly. "The Lovegoods always were such an odd sort. It isn't that surprising he'd think of that spell. He lives near us, but we very little of him, you know. Ever since Peryri died, Xenophilius and Luna spend more and more time out the country. Peryri kept him from running around the world so much, but after the accident he just…"

All conversation was halted, however, when Ginny burst through the barrier, laughing hysterically, Fred joining her mirth. George trailed along behind, smirking as if the whole thing amused him. Lupin came through a moment later, shaking his head slowly and face slightly pink. Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"What's up, Remus?" she asked, but it was George who answered.

"Do you know what his codename is?" the redhead snickered. "It's _Wether_! That's a _castrated_ ram! Moody is such a jerk!"

Fred howled, clutching is sides as Ginny collapsed against him. Tonks looked at Lupin, who shrugged weakly. The woman with spiky pink hair gave the man a coquettish grin, her hair changing to bright, bold red. "Well, _I'd_ say you were a _ram_. Right Remus?"

Remus placed his head in his hands while George erupted into hysterics, joining his twin and younger sister. Sirius, in dog form, gave a series of rasping barks as he, too, joined in on the embarrassment of his friend. Mrs. Weasley looked mortified, looking from Mokuba to Tonks.

"Nymphadora!" she hissed, earning a sharp glare from the woman. "There's a _child_ present!"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, turning and looking at his older brother. Kaiba frowned, his eyebrow twitching. Ryou flushed suddenly, looking at is feet while Harry cleared his throat, but threw the werewolf a sly smile, which further embarrassed the graying brunet. Yugi looked confused, and decided to get answers.

/ Yami… what's going on? / Yugi asked, almost afraid of the answer. Yami snickered, and Yugi felt his dread increase.

/ I believe Miss Tonks in implying that she'd know if Lupin was a wether or a ram. /

Yugi stared blankly for several seconds before his thoughts caught up with him. / What?! _Yami_! /

Yugi blushed and turned away from the group, shaking his head. Once the laughter had calmed down, mister Weasley came through, leading Ron and Hermione. They were arguing softly, but when they caught sight of Harry they stopped immediately and rushed to his side.

"Harry! How was the walk? It wasn't too bad was it?"

Harry shook his head, grinning slightly. Ron frowned at him. "Then you're lucky. Hermione kept _nagging_ me for not finishing my Charms homework yet. I mean, I've only got three more inches to do!"

Hermione rounded on the redhead, brown eyes flashing. "That doesn't matter, Ronald. It's _homework_. It's supposed to be done at _home_."

Suddenly the two broke into a soft argument and Harry rolled his eyes, turning away from them. Ryou chuckled, drawing Harry's attention. He came closer to the albino, eyebrow raised.

"So, famous, huh?" he began. Ryou blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… we all competed in Duel Monster tournaments in Japan, and I'm the fifth top duelist. Then it's Joey Wheeler- a friend who lives back in Japan- as fourth, Kaiba is third, Marik is second, and Yugi is the champion."

Harry jolted, turning to look at Yugi who was currently shuffling his deck while Marik jabbered to him and Mokuba, Kaiba standing like a silent sentinel beside his brother. "_Yugi's_ the champion?"

Ryou smiled, nodding as he, too, watched the Puzzle Holder turn and smile at something Marik said. "Yes. He's a master strategist. Kaiba used to be the champion, but then Yugi beat him earlier last year," the albino said. "Then Kaiba held the Battle City Tournament, and he and Joey lost to Marik and Yugi in a four-way match." Ryou neglected to mention that Joey had passed out due to the card game, but there was no reason to mention that. "Kaiba and Joey played for third place, and Kaiba won. Obviously, Yugi beat Marik."

Harry turned and looked at Ryou, eyebrow quirking. "How did you become the fifth top then?"

Ryou fought the urge to look away, and used his Occlumency to shove the dark feelings from remembering waking up in the middle of a Shadow Game with a giant dragon bearing down at him…

Ryou blushed slightly. "When I was defeated, my record was the best out of all the losers." Ryou smirked, looking at Harry sideways. "I still think I could beat Joey though."

Harry chuckled at him, and Ryou's face flushed a bit more, a tingle jumping through his stomach. Mrs. Weasley said something, however, before the white-haired teen could respond. The group turned their eyes to where Moody came limping through, dragging a cart loaded up with all of their trunks and animals. Not for the first time Ryou found himself wondering how they did such things before he would remember that their kind magic existed.

The crazy-eyed man waved his wand and the cart unloaded itself, and its baggage went to their respectful owners. Ryou and Harry's trunks landed lightly in front of them, and the owl cages hovered beside their owners while the trunks settled in front of them. Mokuba latched onto Heqet's tank, blinking down at the trunk in front of him and sighing. Marik chuckled at the boy, placing Sekhmet around his shoulders like a boa and the kitten went limp, tired green eyes half-open.

"Too bad you can't just float it along, huh?" he said with a smirk. Mokuba huffed, turning around and smiling down at the purple toad with vivid green eyes. "Don't worry," he cooed, "we'll get you there."

"Alright, you lot!" Moody's sharp, snappish tone cutting through the group's conversation. They all turned to look at him, and he grunted at them. "Take care of yourselves, got it? Keep watch over each other's backs; don't let anyone get the better of you!"

"_**CONSTANT VIGILANCE**_**!**"

Moody jumped, along with everyone else. Everyone swung around to look at Harry who was smiling widely, dropping his hands from his mouth. Moody gave him a sneer, but one that told how proud he was. Harry beamed under the praise and Ryou smiled at the black-haired teen. Lupin smiled, but picked up where he left off.

"Just be careful guys," he said, scanning the group of eleven students. "Remember- we aren't in the public's good graces at the moment, so stick together. No matter where you end up." The werewolf cast a knowing glance at the eldest Kaiba brother, and Kaiba merely rolled his eyes at the warning.

Tonks winked at them before looking up at the train. "It's about to leave, so get going guys!"

While the other, older students remained behind to get far more personal farewells, the five newcomers quickly made their way to the train, and clamored onboard. Mokuba paused, turning and looking at his brother, who was dragging both of their trunks behind him. "Uh… Seto?"

Kaiba nodded, looking at his brother. A pair of blue-violet eyes peered up at him through a tangle of black bangs. "Could I… sit with some other first years?"

Kaiba stilled for several long moments, turning and staring out the window before exhaling, nodding at the brother. "Fine. Just don't do anything stupid," the eldest Kaiba said gruffly, but Mokuba smiled at him, bumping into his side affectionately.

"Thanks, big brother! Let's go find a compartment!"

The tiny boy darted forward, clutching Heqet's tank close to his chest. Kaiba rolled his head back, exhaling.

"I don't know how I'm going to handle him being in a different House…" the CEO grumbled before trudging forward, dragging both trunks behind him. Yugi and Ryou shared a knowing look before trudging after the CEO, Marik falling in behind.

* * *

Once Mokuba was settled in with a group of other first years, a few who were Muggle-born and knew who he and his brother were, the four Shadow Mages strode through the now-moving train, looking for a compartment that would fit them all. It was after a good few minutes before the four of them stumbled across a compartment half-way through the train that held only one student and their trunk. Yugi knocked tentatively on the door, and the black student turned around, blinking at them with dark eyes in confusion before he rose to his feet and slid open the door enough for him to stand in the way.

"What?" he asked, eyeing them curiously. Yugi, far too used to being inspected like this, ignored it and smiled slightly at him.

"Uh," he began articulately, "we need a place to sit. Are you waiting for some of your friends, or do you have some room?"

"Who are you?"

The question took Yugi by surprise, but Kaiba was ready for it. "We're the students from Japan. Mutou, Kaiba, Bakura, and Ishtar."

The student stilled for a moment, his handsome face flashing shock for a moment before he stepped back, pushing the door open, an invitation. "Come in. I'm Zabini. Most of the students heard you were coming. Never thought I'd see you down here, however."

Zabini took a seat nearest to the door while Kaiba and Ryou began to stuff their trunks in the luggage rack. Yugi and Marik took seats next to the tall teen, the Egyptian taking his kitten from around his neck and laying her in his lap. He stroked the kitten and turned to the other, taller teen.

"Why wouldn't we be here?"

Zabini shrugged, but his eyes were guarded. "Well, this is where the Slytherins have gathered."

Ryou and Kaiba took a seat across from Marik and Yugi, Kaiba closest to the window. Ryou blinked at Zabini, leaning his head to the side.

"Really?" he asked, sliding forward in his seat slightly. "We've only heard the worst about them from Harry and Ron. I was kind of hoping to meet one of you."

Whatever reaction Zabini had been expecting, that wasn't it. He sat, shocked, for several long moments before he leaned forward, a smile lighting across is face. "Really?" he said, honestly surprised. "Not too many Mud-_Muggle-borns_ are interested in Slytherin. They usually hear how horrible we are and run the other way. This is refreshing."

Ryou fought the urge to blush, but he did duck his head slightly. Yugi looked at Zabini and blinked a couple of times. "Could you explain it to us? How is it _really_ in Slytherin?"

Zabini smirked lightly, shaking his head a little. "I'm not the best one to explain it, but a friend of mine is. He's at the Prefects meeting, but he'll be here in an hour or so, if you don't mind waiting for answer."

Yugi shook his head, violet eyes bright. "That's not a problem, actually."

Moving on, Zabini looked them up and down. "What year are you in, by the way? I mean, you aren't going to be first years, are you?"

Yugi smiled. "We're going to be fifth years."

"All of you?" the Slytherin said, blinking down at Yugi. The crazy-haired teen frowned, and Marik burst into laughter. Ryou grinned at Zabini.

"Yugi's only a year younger than us," Ryou explained. Zabini's eyebrows arched upwards in surprise, and Yugi glowered at the white-haired teen.

"Actually, I'm practically _two_ years younger than you," Yugi said. He turned to Zabini. "He's turning seventeen _tomorrow_."

Zabini smirked at Ryou, who blushed brilliantly. "So, you're going to be a legal wizarding adult tomorrow. First day in Hogwarts and you can already do magic whenever you want. Most of us would kill to be you."

Ryou grinned, blushing still. "It would help if I knew more magic than I did."

Zabini nodded, leaning back and just watching them for several seconds. He smiled easily. "So," he began, "what do you know about Quidditch?"

* * *

"… and that is why the Heidelberg Harriers is the best team in the league."

The compartment door slid open, and a tall, slender blonde male came into the compartment, dragging a trunk with one hand, the other holding a large cage in which a Eurasian Eagle-owl sat, head tucked under a brown wing. The teen stood still for a moment, taking in the sight before turning to look at Zabini wordlessly. The black teen smirked at him.

"Malfoy, meet Mutou, Ishtar, Bakura, and Kaiba. The students from _Japan_."

Malfoy's grey eyes widened and he nodded, turning and offering his hand to Bakura. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he said. Ryou didn't even hesitate when he reached forward, grasping the other teen's hand.

"Ryou Bakura," he said, getting up to assist Malfoy place his trunk in the rack. Once the owl and the trunk were safely stored, Malfoy turned to Yugi, who smiled as he shook his hand.

"Yugi Mutou. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Malfoy."

The teen winced slightly, but kept a small grin on his face. "Just Malfoy. It sounds like you're talking about Father."

Marik grinned and quickly shook Malfoy's hand without rising, Sekhmet still lazing in his lap. "Marik Ishtar. We've heard a little about you."

Malfoy paused, eyebrows rising. "Oh?"

"Yup. Apparently you're a _goat_." Zabini broke into laughter while Malfoy just looked confused. Marik took a moment to think about his words. "Er… or something like that. What did Weasley say, Kaiba?"

Kaiba rose, taking Malfoy's hand when it was offered. "Seto Kaiba. He said that Draco Malfoy was a snarky, pointy, evil git and should be avoided at all costs."

Malfoy blinked at that, but his lips curled into an unkind sneer. "Did he now?"

Kaiba smirked back before retaking his seat, and Malfoy sat next to Ryou and across from Zabini. Marik, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arms behind his head. "_Git_. That was it. We haven't known you long enough to determine if you are snarky or evil- which we'd know- I can tell you, you do have a bit of a pointy face."

Zabini snickered into his hand, but was silenced when Malfoy threw him a glare. He frowned back at Marik, face pinking slightly. "Really?" the Prefect said. Marik shrugged, gesturing to the short teen beside him.

"Not that we can talk, anyway," Marik said, and Yugi gaped at him.

"Hey!"

Malfoy grinned, running his hand through his hair. "Well, I'll have you know that I'm not _pointy_. I have a _fine-boned facial structure_."

Zabini snickered again, and Marik burst into laughter. Yugi chuckled into his hands while Ryou shook slightly as he contained his mirth. Kaiba merely smirked at him. Once everyone had regained control, Malfoy turned back to Zabini from across the seats.

"The other Prefects are exactly who I thought they'd be."

"Even the Weasel?" Zabini asked, eyebrows darting upwards again. The white-blonde nodded.

"Even him. I _knew_ Dumbles wouldn't want to stack _this_ on top of his Golden Boy. But, really? Weasel? I was hoping I was _joking_ when I said that. I'm sure someone else could have done a decent job. Granger I can stomach- mostly because I can use that with Father- but Weasel is too much. That Thomas kid would have been better."

Zabini shook his head slowly, as if mourning something. He then jolted, blinking rapidly. "Oh, Malfoy."

The grey-eyed teen raised a thin eyebrow at the other boy. Zabini continued.

"These guys wanted to know what being in Slytherin is all about. Trying to get a good feel for the best House," the handsome, dark-haired teen said smugly. Malfoy nodded, turning to smirk at the four.

"You've probably heard all about how Slytherins are all about evil and darkness and kicking puppies, right?" Malfoy asked. He didn't wait for a response before he rose to his feet and began to pace the compartment. "It's not like that. We're ambitious and determined; we have goals that far outreach our current selves so we work hard to become who we need to be to accomplish them. We're clever, cunning, and resourceful; we don't have to be brave if we just take our time to figure out how to do it without risking our own necks. And we damn well like to keep ourselves alive; we'd rather make sure what we're doing won't get us killed before we rush in. _That's_ what Slytherin is."

Malfoy stood there, turning his gaze around the compartment as if daring them to argue with him. Kaiba merely nodded while Yugi was staring off into space, a slight smile on his face. Marik grinned widely at him.

"I must say, Malfoy, that your impassioned speech was the best explanation for any House we've learned about thus far. Slytherin sounds far more appealing now that it did a few days ago."

Ryou nodded absently, blinking straight ahead. Someone knocked on the door, and a pug-faced girl with short black hair and dark eyes pushed it open and looked inside. "Got your Prefect pin on, Draco?" she asked before taking in the sight before her. Her dark eyes practically glowed with glee before she contained herself. "We've got the first walkthrough. Maybe we'll catch some second years running around wild. I'd _love_ to take points before even we get to school!"

Malfoy sighed, waving his hand through the air as he double-checked to make sure his pin was on his green jumper. "Alright, Pansy. We'll walk really slowly by the Gryffindors. Maybe we'll get one of the Golden Trio." Here he paused, turning around to look back at the group of four. "You understand mutual hatred, right?"

Marik and Kaiba nodded at once while Ryou shrugged slightly. Yugi grimaced, but nodded. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; I won't do any sort of physical or magical damage to them."

Yugi chuckled, nodding. "Sorry- I'm a bit of a… how did Fred put it?"

Ryou smiled at his friend. "You're a bit of a first-year Hufflepuff."

"Yeah, that."

Malfoy cracked a grin while Pansy tugged him out of the compartment, calling over her shoulder: "I'll have him back in a half-hour!" Then her voice went soft as the door began to close. "Was that them?"

The door was quickly shut and Zabini chuckled nervously as Malfoy dragged Pansy away. Marik shrugged, waving his hand through the air. "We figured you wanted to get on our good sides, so don't worry about it."

Zabini scratched the back of his head. "Slytherins are ambitious- can you blame us for trying to campaign for you to be more accepting of our House?"

Kaiba shook his head. "We get it," he grunted, rolling his eyes. Ryou nodded to make up for the CEO's rudeness. "We'd rather get to know you before we pass judgment."

Marik mock-gagged and Ryou reached over and punched his shoulder lightly. Yugi snickered at him while the CEO looked away once more.

The black teen shook his head, rolling his eyes. He finally straightened himself out, drawing everyone's attention. "I never told you my first name," he said simply. "I'm Blaise. But call me Zabini. It's just how Slytherins do it."

Yugi nodded. "Alright, Zabini."

* * *

"Are the windows closed?"

Kaiba looked at the glass that was showing a darkened sky and nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," Malfoy said, and held out the small blue cardboard box. "Alright, Mutou, remember what I told you."

Yugi nodded, and took the box from him. The four newcomers all leaned over, watching as Yugi pulled the cardboard tab on the box. It opened easily, and something brown leapt through the air, only to be snatched by Malfoy's quick hands before it even started to fall. The chocolate frog squirmed in his grasp, and the blond shook his head.

"Okay, _that_ wasn't fair. They normally stay in the box for a couple of seconds."

He passed it over to Yugi, who held it, inspecting it. "This is a charm? Or a transfiguration?"

"It's a little of both, actually," Zabini said, poking the frog with his wand. "It's more like a mishandled transfiguration- a block of chocolate into a frog- and then charming the frog into jumping around. So, you aren't eating a real frog."

Marik grinned, snatching the chocolate frog from Yugi and quickly chomped down on its head. The creature stopped squirming and Marik grinned at Yugi, who'd paled slightly at the sight. Malfoy rolled his eyes at their antics before turning and looking at the group with an annoyed look. "Zabini's favorite class is Transfiguration," the blonde said, turning his eyes and narrowing his grey gaze at the teen. "Traitor."

At their confused looks, Zabini explained. "Transfiguration is taught by Professor McGonagall, who is the Head of the Gryffindor House. So, Malfoy thinks I've betrayed my House by liking Transfiguration more than Potions. Professor Snape is Malfoy's godfather, the Potions Professor, and our Head of House. It's sacrilege for a Slytherin to like another class more than Potions."

Malfoy nodded solemnly. "I've protected him since third year when we came out to our House- little moron told off one of the upper years for saying that Transfiguration was stupid." Malfoy turned a disappointed grey gaze upon Zabini. "I was _so _disappointed with you. I mean, where the hell was your cleverness? Your sense of _self-preservation_!?"

Zabini had the grace to look sufficiently chastised by the other Slytherin. "I was a mere third year. Plus, there was a mass murderer on the loose- I believe _everyone _slipped up once that year."

Malfoy stared hard at the black teen before rolling his eyes. "I did no such thing!"

"Oh, really?" Zabini said, but there was a dark glow in his even darker eyes. Malfoy gave him an odd look- worried and curious at the same time.

"Zabini…"

"So, you don't remember that first night the whole school slept in the Great Hall where you pulled Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and me into a far corner and practically_ sobbed_ all over us that you wouldn't let _anything_ happen to us?" Zabini raised an eyebrow. "That was you acting like a Slytherin?"

Malfoy flushed pink- he and Ryou seemed to have a similar complexion in that they didn't turn red- and turned away, glaring at the doorway. "Fine, so I had a couple of moments. As you said, Zabini- _mass-murderer on the loose!_"

Zabini gave him a wicked look, but Yugi smiled at Malfoy, making the Slytherin blink at the teen with spiky hair. "I think it's great you wanted to protect your friends," Yugi said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Malfoy blinked a few times at Yugi before nodding slightly. "Yeah. Sure."

Marik opened his mouth to say more when suddenly all four foreign teens winced at once, Yugi immediately placing his head between his knees as he clutched at his temples. Malfoy jerked away from them, and Zabini leapt to his feet, rushing over and kneeling Yugi. "Hey, what's going on, Mutou?"

Yugi hissed, and the Puzzle around his neck flashed before glowing, and the teen slowly lifted his head, maroon eyes slightly glazed over. Yami looked at Zabini before rasping out: "We've entered Hogwarts grounds."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow as the rest of the teens slowly composed themselves. The Necklace Marik wore had begun to glow, as well, and he was tight-lipped and pale. Kaiba was rubbing his temples slowly, eyes shut. Ryou was clutching the edge of the seat tightly, blinking at the floor of the compartment. "We… we all have bad reactions to wards," the albino explained. "We'll be fine in a few hours. We just have to allow our bodies to get used to it. The Headmaster suggested it could be because we didn't develop our magic until much later in life, so we're very sensitive to magic auras."

Of course, this was a bold-faced lie- their Shadow Magic cores merely repelled the Neo-Magic, and the pressure of the Shadow-Magic trying to repel so much Neo-Magic gave them headaches. It would decrease with time, as it had in Grimmauld Place. This was why their own Neo-Magic cores had no affect on the Shadow-Magic cores- desensitizing.

Malfoy winced in sympathy while Zabini nodded, sitting back down and looking from the still-glowing Puzzle to Marik's also-glowing Necklace. "Why is your pyramid _glowing_? And your necklace?" the black teen asked. Yami grabbed it with one hand, looking down at it.

"It was a gift from my Grandfather," the spirit began, "and it's been charmed to glow when we pass through wards. It kind of gives us some warning. The same with Marik's Necklace."

"Does it detect wards?" Malfoy said, eyeing the golden necklace, a slightly hungry look in his eyes. Yami fought to keep the disgust off his face, and instead pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Only when we're already on the other side."

"Oh," was all the blonde said, immediately losing interest. Yami relaxed a bit more, although it still felt as though someone was tap dancing on his skull with steel-toed boots. Ryou looked over at Malfoy, smiling weakly as he rubbed his temples slightly.

"How much further till we get to Hogsmeade?"

Malfoy squinted out the window and into the darkness. "Not long. We should probably put on our school robes."

As they quickly pulled the black robes over their clothing, Malfoy turned to look at Yami, moving is Prefect badge from his jumper to his robe. "Any idea what House you'll be put in?"

Yami shrugged. He looked over the small black hat before pulling it onto his head, where it held onto a few spikes rather than sit on his head. "From what we've heard, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or Gryffindor would fit for me."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows at the mention of Slytherin. Ryou chuckled slightly, drawing both of the Slytherin's gazes. "You'd have to know him better," was all he said.

Malfoy turned his grey gaze upon Ryou, quirking an eyebrow. "What about you?"

"I'm probably Hufflepuff. Maybe Ravenclaw."

Marik attempted to pull his pointed hat away from his grey Maine Coon kitten. "I haven't the slightest clue where I'll be," he said, and Kaiba snickered at him.

When the two Slytherins turned their gaze upon Kaiba, he leaned back and returned it. "Most would assume I'd end up as a Ravenclaw, but I'm Slytherin."

Malfoy blinked at him while Zabini gave him a dull stare. "You do realize that Slytherin House very rarely takes any mud- _gah_- Muggle-Borns?"

None of the foreign wizards even flinched at the near mess-up. Kaiba looked in disgust at the pointed black hat before placing it on his head. "I do."

"Oh," Zabini said, leaning back. "Just wanted to make sure."

At last, the train began to slow, and the six males began to pull their trunks from the luggage rack. Someone was knocking on the door, and Malfoy turned around and smiled at two large, bulky teens standing at the compartment door. Both had dark brown hair and dark eyes. Both of them were tall, but the shorter of the two had large, gorilla-like arms, like a Giant Orc monster. The larger one was more proportioned, but still shaped more like the Hitotsu-Me Giant than anyone else. Malfoy gave them slight grins.

"Crabbe, Goyle," he said, nodding to them.

"Malfoy," Crabbe said, his voice low and gravelly. Goyle gave the blond a dull smile before nodding to him. "'Lo Malfoy." The two of them glanced around Malfoy to stare hard at the other four in the compartment. Ryou waved weakly at them while the rest of them returned the gaze coolly. Zabini leapt in.

"These are the new wizards from Japan, guys."

Suddenly, the harshness left the eyes of the two other Slytherins and they nodded amiably at them. "Oh," Goyle said dimly, "okay."

"Parkinson told us to come 'round," Crabbe said, turning once more to Malfoy. "She wanted us to help you get your stuff off the train while you and she go do your Prefect stuff. Wanted us to watch your back."

Malfoy smiled at them "Alright then you two. Here- I'll be riding with Zabini and these four… right?"

He paused and looked over at the foreign wizards. Yami smiled slightly at him, tilting is head to the side.

"Of course," he said, nodding. Malfoy nodded back

"I'll be riding with these five, so Crabbe, just follow them. Here," he turned and placed his owl's cage into Crabbe's, "take this. Goyle, follow me!" He turned around and nodded at the group. "See you at the carriages."

With that, the teen disappeared through the compartment doors, robes billowing out behind him, and the taller of the two teens stumbled off after him. Crabbe stood stiffly for several seconds, merely holding the cage in his right hand. Zabini, carrying a silver cage with a black-and-white boreal owl inside, sighed gesturing for him to follow. "Heel, Crabbe," he mumbled, leaving his trunk behind as they were supposed to.

On the way, Kaiba managed to stumble across Mokuba and Heqet, and left with Heqet while the younger Kaiba brother went on his way towards where an elderly witch with a short haircut was summoning the first years. Marik snickered, elbowing Ryou lightly with the arm that wasn't petting Sekhmet, who was enamored with the glowing Millennium Necklace.

"Thank Bes we don't have to go on a boat, eh?" the Egyptian cackled, and Ryou chuckled beside him, nodding slightly. The blond stole a glance at the brunet CEO and smirked, winking at Ryou. "I doubt Kaiba would fit in one."

Kaiba shot Marik a dark look before adjusting the large terrarium in his arms. The four foreigners all came to an abrupt halt, eyes wide as they stared at what awaited them. Zabini and Crabbe had led them to a carriage being drawn by a large, black, horse-esque creature. Glowing white eyes stared at each of them, and large bat-like wings folded gracefully along their skeletal bodies. A silvery mane ran along the draconic faces of the creatures. The two Slytherins were too busy trying to organize the seating arrangements to actually notice the others weren't with them. Ryou exhaled softly, coming forward to inspect it.

"What… are they?" he asked, reaching out and stroking the snout of one, which snorted into his hand.

"So," a soft male voice interrupted them, "you can see them too?"

The four turned their attention to a weedy-looking teen with dirty-blond hair and hazel eyes. He had a green and silver tie around his neck, indicating he was a Slytherin. He looked past them and at the creature before them. "They're thestrals, creatures only able to be seen by those who have seen death."

Yami narrowed his maroon gaze slightly, inclining his head to the left. "Who are you?"

The teen turned and watched them with cool, calm eyes. "I'm Nott," was all he said. He turned toward another thestral-drawn carriage, gazing over his shoulder. "I'll be seeing you." And he left.

Kaiba stared after him before rolling his eyes skyward. "Death ponies. How fascinating."

Yami grunted before trudging forward where Malfoy had appeared and was trying to get a good seat. "C'mon- before they leave without us."

The group quickly clamored aboard the carriage as Malfoy was recounting his run-in with a second-year Hufflepuff, chuckling. Yami shook his head and took the seat next to him, while the other three sat on the other side. The carriage began to move, and Ryou smiled nervously.

"We're so close," he murmured. Zabini nodded, gazing out the window and at the castle as it came into view.

"The Sorting is going to be a big deal. I hope to see one of your at our table when it's all over," the teen said. Yami turned his maroon gaze upon the two Slytherins.

"Even if we aren't," the spirit began, channeling Yugi's questions for him, "can we still associate with you?"

Malfoy looked taken aback before nodding slightly, blinking at him. "If you still want to. We'll let the rest of the Slytherins know that you're all honorary Slytherins. That should keep them off your backs if you're wandering through the dungeons."

Yami smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Thank you."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: … Oh man, it's so long! XD Over twenty-two pages of text, just for you guys! Sorry it took me a little longer than usual to get it out- college has been running me into the ground. I hope you all understand what the Slytherins are doing- it's not exactly about becoming friends for them, it's about gaining their trust. And, sorry about not have Neville in here- it just didn't work out. However, I like my Blaise Zabini in his stead. The next chapter will be shorter, as it deals only with the Sorting… at least, that's all I have planned for it at the moment.

**CHAPTER TITLES**: ADVENTURA - _an adventure_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ The Sorting Hat! …That's all I have to say, right?_


	12. Ordo

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hey everyone! I managed to not make sense last chapter- I know _I'd_ be baffled- so I apologize to anyone who was confused by the ages of the characters! I'm going by the mangaverse ages… kinda. These are the ages and birthdays for these guys in my story:

- Ryou is sixteen, and turns seventeen on September 2nd  
- Kaiba is sixteen and turns seventeen on October 25th  
- Marik is sixteen and turns seventeen on December 23rd  
- Yugi is fifteen and turns sixteen on June 4th  
- Mokuba is eleven and turns twelve on July 2nd.

Thus, Ryou is the oldest, followed by Kaiba, Marik, and then Yugi. I made Yugi the youngest because he's _so_ short. I just couldn't have a sixteen-year-old at that height, especially a male. Fifteen I could deal with, mostly because I can make him grow a few inches (not much, though- short!Yugi/Yami is _hilarious_). I hope that clears up any confusion for you guys!

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE:  
****ORDO**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Fred and George find out that Marik and Yugi are talking to invisible people. The group discovers they are a bit more famous than they thought they would be so far from Japan. They also discover Luna Lovegood, card collector and probably slightly mentally unstable. They stumble across the Slytherins, who are _not_ evil, slimy gits as previously thought! The Neo-Magic-induced headaches are back with a vengeance, and they can see Death Ponies. And the day has not even ended yet!_

* * *

The four Shadow Mages clamored out of their carriage, holding onto their cages and tanks and stood awkwardly off to the side as Zabini and Malfoy exited last. The two Slytherins looked at them in confusion before Marik chuckled nervously.

"We… are supposed to wait for the first years," the blond explained, holding the now-struggling kitten to his chest. The cat made a most piteous noise in protest, reaching up to bat at Marik's face and glowing Millennium Necklace. Malfoy nodded, eyeing Zabini from the side.

"Oh," he said after a moment. "You wouldn't have anywhere to sit anyway, since the tables are organized according to House. You'll probably be Sorted last, of course, since Dumbles is going to want to make a _huge_ deal about you."

Yami sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful," he grumbled, still feeling a dull ache from the wards. While it was indeed decreasing, that coupled with the steady drain from using Shadow-Magic to keep up a semi-functional shield around his mind, he could feel his moodiness creeping up on him. Yugi sent a wave of understanding, and Yami could feel the some of the strain disappearing.

/ Yugi… / the yami murmured, but Yugi chuckled at him.

/ You and me are in this together, Yami. I'm helping. Deal with it. /

Yami fought to keep the pleased smile off his face. Kaiba, meanwhile, turned his attention to the oncoming crowd. He frowned.

"Potter is coming. With his friends," Kaiba warned, and Malfoy stiffened, loathing flashing across is grey gaze. He cleared his throat before nodding at them.

"I don't want to deal with him before I eat. I may lose my appetite," he declared. Ryou frowned unhappily at the blond, but Malfoy just nodded jerkily to the four and waved Zabini onward. "C'mon, Zabini- we have to get a good spot to see the Sorting. See you later."

Malfoy spun around and charged right into another brunette- a Hufflepuff if the yellow and black tie was to be believed- and sent both of them to the ground. Zabini immediately pulled Malfoy to his feet while the girl with light brown hair and squared-framed glasses struggled to her feet herself. She dusted off her robes before looking Malfoy over.

"Sorry," she said suddenly. "Are you alright?"

Malfoy hoisted his nose into the air, glaring at her smoldering grey eyes. "I am, but watch where you're going next time!"

The girl raised an eyebrow before smirking, inadvertently showing off her canines when she did. Her green eyes flashed behind her black frames. "Plan on running into me again, then?"

Before Malfoy could respond with something more than a muffled squawk of shock, the girl turned on her heel and walked away. Malfoy stood gaping for several seconds before he drew himself up, eyes practically silver in his fury.

"The _nerve_ of some people!" he exclaimed before storming off towards the castle doors. He paused when he realized Zabini, who was stifling his chuckles, had not followed him. "Zabini!"

Zabini nodded one last time to the Shadow Mages, who were also resisting showing their mirth. "Hope to see you at our table."

Marik grinned at him. "If not there, maybe in the halls?"

Zabini smiled a bit wider. "Yeah. See you around."

"ZABINI!"

Zabini rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "Coming! See you guys." He then retreated after Malfoy, who immediately began to complain to him. Ryou was grinning widely by that time.

"I like them," he said simply. "They seem like fun."

Yami nodded, but there was a nervous glow to his eyes. "Yes, but we should take caution in dealing with them- as they themselves admitted, they are ambitious by nature, and if Malfoy's father truly is working with… _Dictator Dark_-" Marik preened when he heard _his_ made-up word used- "then their attempts to be civil with us most likely came as orders from Dictator Dark as well."

Ryou looked stunned for a moment, and Kaiba nodded. "Most likely," the CEO admitted. "I wouldn't recommend severing ties with them, though."

"Neither would I," Yami agreed. "Their souls are not yet completely tainted by evil. If we can draw them over…"

"Hey guys!"

Yami blinked before shoving Yugi back into control, the constant glow of the Millennium Puzzle around his neck masking its flash from the switch. Yugi smiled as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came over to them, leading Luna Lovegood and another, pudgy boy with dark brown hair and kind eyes holding an odd cactus. Harry opened is mouth to introduce them when suddenly Luna stepped forward, smiling slightly.

"Oh, have you all met Yugi Mutou, Ryou Bakura, Marik Ishtar, and Seto Kaiba? I suppose you have, Harry, which would mean Ron and Hermione and Ginny have, as well. Oh, Neville, you seem to be out of the loop." She latched onto the boy's arm and pulled him forward. "Neville Longbottom, these people are Yugi Mutou, Ryou Bakura, Marik Ishtar, and Seto Kaiba. They're rather famous in the muggle world. Champions of Duel Monsters." She peered around, her large silver eyes washing over the darkened land. "You're missing Mokuba Kaiba. He's with the other first years?"

Kaiba nodded briskly, and Luna smiled, her eyes settling on a large window above them. Neville blinked weakly. He looked them over, saying, "You guys… duel _monsters_ in the muggle world?"

Ryou blinked a few times while Marik chuckled beside him. "Ah, no," the Egyptian finally answered. "It's a card game _called _'Duel Monsters.' We're high-ranking in the game. Like, top five. And, thus, famous."

Neville looked both relieved and disappointed, but smiled nonetheless. "Oh, okay. I guess we should be going inside then, right?"

Yugi scratched the back of his head slightly. "We would, but we're supposed to wait for the first years and enter with them."

Ron frowned slightly. "Oh, too bad," he murmured, although he seemed pleased by this fact. Hermione sent him a reproachful glance, and Ron looked confused. "What?"

"Nothing."

Harry smiled at them. "We'll see you inside then. Good luck with your Sorting," the teen said. Ryou blinked nervously.

"H-Harry?" he asked, and drew Harry's attention. Ryou continued. "If… we don't all end up in Gryffindor, we can still hang out, right?"

Harry looked baffled. "Of course," he said at the same time that Ron blurted, "As long as you aren't Slytherin!"

Harry glared at Ron, who once more looked confused. "What? Why are you all giving me these looks?!"

Harry rolled his eyes in amusement before turning back to the group. "It'll be fine. See you inside!"

The six turned to leave, and Neville hung back for a moment. "Nice to meet you all."

Yugi grinned back. "It's good to meet you too." Neville flashed him a grin and rushed to catch up with the group. Yugi sagged, looking around to see if anyone else was going to approach them. When it looked clear, he exhaled.

"So," he began in Japanese, "we have a moment to talk."

Kaiba, obviously stewing on the topic since it had been brought to his attention, rounded on Marik, blue eyes flashing. "What were you two thinking?"

Yugi caught on immediately and pushed Yami back into control, while Marik looked bewildered, eyebrows raising and frowning slightly. "If you pinpoint the time frame, maybe I can share."

"Blackmail? Candies? _Fred and George_?!" Kaiba hissed. Marik and Yami both flinched, and Kaiba growled low in his throat. He rounded on Marik. "The next time you decide to argue over something, do it with Yugi! And _you_!" he snapped, turning his damning eyes upon the Pharaoh. "You were royalty! _Use some discretion_!"

Marik and Yami looked thoroughly chastised, eyes dropping to the ground and flushing slightly. Ryou had to hide his smile, and the spirit form of Yugi, who had formed next to him, was biting his lip to keep from giggling. Kaiba glared at the two of them, a silent warning, before straightening and calming.

"Now that that is settled… since there isn't the slightest chance we'll all end up in one House, how should we keep in contact?"

Yami looked down at the sleeping Thoth in his cage. "We use Thoth, of course. He'll be staying with the others owls in the Owlery, so just go and use him if you need to send someone a message."

Ryou nodded. "Once we figure out our schedules," the albino began, "we can find time to get together in the library."

Yugi made a face at the thought of having to spend so much of their free time in the library, but the rest of them ignored it in favor of the sound of footsteps approaching. Yami relinquished control to his host and took to his incorporeal state beside the teen. The elder witch from before led the crowd of fifty or sixty eleven-year-olds. She paused at the door, nodding briskly to the four older teens.

"Gentlemen," she said simply. The four nodded back to her, and she turned back to the door, knocking on it rapidly. While they waited, Mokuba stole away from the group with another one of the first-years in tow. "Seto!"

Kaiba jerked around, holding Heqet's tank closer to him. "Hello Mokuba."

The black haired child did not even look phased by the lukewarm reception, but the blonde boy beside him looked completely horrified, blue eyes wide. Mokuba tugged on his sleeve and smiled at him. He turned back to the group. "Everyone, this is Daniel Boot. He has an older brother in Ravenclaw, so he's been filling me in on what we're doing. Apparently, we wear a hat."

Marik blinked slowly, reaching up to finger the black cap on his head. "A _hat_."

Daniel nodded, looking up at the teen. "Yup. A hat. That sings."

Marik's face was overcome with mock-relief. "Oh, thank Bes! Ryou, did you hear? That Hat that will decide where we're going to be sleeping for the next several months can _sing_! Now I feel _much_ better!"

Ryou coughed lightly, his eyes bright with mirth. Daniel shrugged slightly, blinking tiredly. "It put my brother in Ravenclaw, and that turned out okay. It apparently belonged to Godric Gryffindor."

It looked like the tiny boy was about to say more, but he was immediately sidetracked by the oddity growing out of Yugi's head, and his large eyes glued themselves to the spiky hair. There were several awkward and silent moments that passed before Yugi self-consciously tugged on one of his blonde strands. "W-what?" he asked at last. Daniel blinked before turning his blue gaze on Yugi's violet one.

"You… how are you going to put the Sorting Hat _on_?" he finally breathed, awe evident in his voice. Yugi flushed instantly, clearing his throat. Kaiba was smirking, and Marik looked as though he was trying desperately hard not to laugh. Ryou snorted, earning a reproachful glare from Yugi.

"I'm sure I'll manage," the black, blonde, and red-haired teen finally answered, face still red.

The doors behind them suddenly let out a squeak, and opened to show Professor McGonagall. Her black hair was in a tight bun, her face tight and stern. She waved them inside, the other Professor following behind her, and the four oldest students scooted in, followed quickly by the rest of the youngsters. McGonagall's eyes first flashed over to where the Shadow Mages had gathered before she smiled at the other older Professor.

"Thank you Professor Grubby-Plank. I have them."

"Thank you, Minerva."

Professor Grubby-Plank waved one last time to the group turning and leaving through a large door just in front of them, and the sound of the Great Hall filtered through. McGonagall turned her attention to the people before her and addressed the group as a whole.

"First years," she paused and turned once more to the group of older students, "and late-bloomers alike, I welcome you all to Hogwarts. The Sorting Feast shall begin shortly, but first…"

She began to go over the Houses and House points, things Yugi and the others had learned about more than a month ago. Yami prodded him mentally.

/ Yugi? /

/ Yes? /

/ Do you have a preference towards what House we enter? /

/ Only so far that it fit's the both of us, Yami. I know Hufflepuff would work well for me, but you aren't a Hufflepuff. And neither of us are Ravenclaw… /

Yami chuckled, and Yugi smiled slightly. / Ah, / the Pharaoh said. / Well, we'll just have to let the… _hat_ know that, then. I doubt you're a Slytherin, Yugi. /

/ I guess that leaves Gryffindor. /

/ Are you surprised? /

Before Yugi could respond, someone elbowed him in the side, and the teen winced and turned to scold whoever had when he saw that McGonagall was looking expectantly at him. The first years twittered around him, and Yugi flushed in embarrassment while his yami snickered at him.

"I-I'm sorry, Professor. Could you repeat that?"

McGonagall sighed, but nodded. "I said, the first years will be sorted first, and then you four will go, in alphabetical order of your surnames. And," she paused, eyeing the owl cage in his hand, "you might want to place your owl and backpack with the rest of the luggage, unless you want the bird to eat with you."

Yugi's blush deepened, and Yami snickered louder in the back of his mind. Frowning, the hikari placed the cage with Heget's tank and Sekhmet's basket. The backpack, however, remained where it was. Still blushing, the teen came back to his friends, glaring at them out of the corner of his eyes.

McGonagall nodded before turning back to the doors. "Now, first years this way!"

The large group of students trotted through the door, except for Mokuba and his friend Daniel. They hung back until the four older wizards came through the door, Mokuba at Kaiba's side and Daniel walking calmly behind him.

The Great Hall was filled with whispering, excited students sitting at one of four tables, with a large, raised platform where the teachers were sitting. There was a pause even in the whispering when the four older students came through, and Marik cheekily grinned at the rest of the school. Ryou ducked his head slightly, and Kaiba merely kept walking. They followed the first years from the entrance doors, past two tables and then towards the teacher's table between two tables.

McGonagall came to a stop by a stool with a large, tattered hat placed upon it and the rest of the students came to a pause. As if sensing it had an audience, the hat shifted, and a seam at its base opened wide, and it began to _sing_.

"_In times of old, when I was new,  
__And Hogwarts barely started,  
__The founders of our noble school  
__Thought never to be parted.  
__United by a common goal,  
__They had the selfsame yearning  
__To make the world's best magic school  
__And pass along their learning.  
__"Together we will build and teach"  
__The four good friends decided.  
__And never did they dream that they  
__Might some day be divided.  
__For were there such friends anywhere  
__As Slytherin and Gryffindor?  
__Unless it was the second pair  
__Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,  
__So how could it have gone so wrong?  
__How could such friendships fail?  
__Why, I was there, so I can tell  
__The whole sad, sorry tale.  
__Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those  
__Whose ancestry's purest."  
__Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose  
__Intelligence is surest"  
__Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those  
__With brave deeds to their name."  
__Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot  
__And treat them just the same."  
__These differences caused little strife  
__When first they came to light.  
__For each of the four founders had  
__A house in which they might  
__Take only those they wanted, so,  
__For instance, Slytherin  
__Took only pure-blood wizards  
__Of great cunning just like him.  
__And only those of sharpest mind  
__Were taught by Ravenclaw  
__While the bravest and the boldest  
__Went to daring Gryffindor.  
__Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest  
__and taught them all she knew,  
__Thus, the Houses and their founders  
__Maintained friendships firm and true. _

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony  
__for several happy years,  
__but then discord crept among us  
__feeding on our faults and fears. _

_The Houses that, like pillars four  
__had once held up our school  
__now turned upon each other and  
__divided, sought to rule.  
__And for a while it seemed the school  
__must meet an early end.  
__what with dueling and with fighting  
__and the clash of friend on friend.  
__And at last there came a morning  
__when old Slytherin departed  
__and though the fighting then died out  
__he left us quite downhearted.  
__And never since the founders four  
__were whittled down to three  
__have the Houses been united  
__as they once were meant to be. _

_And now the Sorting Hat is here  
__and you all know the score:  
__I sort you into Houses  
__because that is what I'm for.  
__But this year I'll go further,  
__listen closely to my song:  
__though condemned I am to split you  
__still I worry that it's wrong,  
__though I must fulfill my duty  
__and must quarter every year  
__still I wonder whether sorting  
__may not bring the end I fear.  
__Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
__the warning history shows,  
__for our Hogwarts is in danger  
__from external, deadly foes  
__and we must unite inside her  
__or we'll crumble from within  
__I have told you, I have warned you...  
__let the Sorting now begin._" _(1)_

The group of five foreigners- along with all of the muggle-born students- stood still, shocked. Finally, Marik let out startled whisper, "_Holy crap_ it really _can_ sing!!"

There was applause, but there was also whispering, and Yugi frowned, turning his eyes around to the tables. / Yami, what does it mean? /

The spirit was silent for several long moments before he spoke. / It means united we stand, divided we fall. /

Yugi snuck a look over at the Gryffindor table, where the lions were glaring at the Slytherins, and the snakes were returning the gesture. / … This could be bad. /

/ We'll fix it, hikari. /

Yugi nodded absentmindedly. / We have to Yami. We don't have much of a choice. We're part of this world now. /

McGonagall sent a death glare at the students who were still talking at the tables, eye snarow behind her spectacles. Then, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, she cleared her throat and rolled open a scroll.

"Anderson, Patrick!"

From the group of younger students, a pudgy boy trotted forward as McGonagall lifted the hat from the stool. He sat down, and the older woman placed the hat on his head. There was a dramatic pause (complete with Marik humming the Jaws theme under his breath), then the seam at the bottom of the hat opened, and a voice rang forth-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table just to their right rose up with a cry, clapping loudly and wildly while the rest of the school clapped softly. Yugi, however, clapped loudly and enthusiastically, earning a few strange looks from fellow waiting students before they, too, started to clap for their year-mate. Marik chuckled at them, even while clapping himself.

"Yugi- promoting inter-House relationships even before being Sorted!"

Yugi beamed under the praise.

The Sorting continued along for several more people before Mokuba's friend was called.

"Boot, Daniel!"

The blonde walked up to the stool, sitting down on it before the Sorting Hat was placed firmly on his head. There was a moment before the hat cried: "RAVENCLAW!"

Another blonde boy jumped up from the table, clapping the loudest and Daniel was grinning broadly when the hat was removed from his head. He waved at Mokuba, who returned the gesture, and walked over to the table where the other blonde wrapped in a tight hug. Mokuba leaned over, whispering, "I think that's Terry, his brother."

The minutes flew by as they watched other students rushing up to the hat to be Sorted. As the list became closer to 'K,' Kaiba's lips pressed tighter together and Mokuba grew paler, grabbing onto his brother's black cloak like it was a lifeline. However, the moment eventually came.

"Kaiba, Mokuba!"

Mokuba was still for a moment before Kaiba placed a hand on his head, and smiling slightly down at him. "What are you waiting for?" he asked in a soft, kind tone. Mokuba blinked a few times before smiling up at him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'll see you later," he whispered before fleeing quickly towards the stool. Kaiba's head was bowed slightly, his eyes covered. He lifted his head as the hat covered Mokuba's eyes, and his hands twitched, wincing slightly. Ryou gently placed a hand on his shoulder, earning a startled and baffled look from the normally composed CEO. Ryou merely smiled, squeezing the shoulder before releasing it and turning back to watch as the Mokuba shifted slightly on the stool. Kaiba straightened, wiping anything but the stern expression from his face. It was a long wait before the hat finally opened at the seam once more.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There was an explosion f noise from the far-right table. The Weasleys screamed, leaping form their seats and clapping wildly as Mokuba took off the hat and beamed at them. He turned around to look at his brother, who gave him a small smile, and that was all Mokuba needed. He smiled back before heading off to the Gryffindor table. He spared Daniel a wave at the Ravenclaw, who returned it eagerly. Kaiba exhaled, leaning forward and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You okay, Kaiba?" Yugi finally asked. Kaiba nodded, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I knew it would happen," he said after a moment. He eyes narrowed and he dropped his hand, voice barely above a whisper. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

Marik raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know that you won't end up as a Gryffindor?"

Kaiba turned around and stared at him, and Marik chuckled uneasily. "Yeah… I get your point."

The Sorting continued without any further mishaps, and became almost boring for the other four teens. Once the last child- a Miss Agatha Zombrey- sat down at the Slytherin table, Headmaster Dumbledore stood, spreading his arms wide. Instantly silence spread throughout the Great Hall. He smiled serenely at the students before gesturing to the Shadow Mages.

"Students of Hogwarts, newcomers and old friends, I would like to welcome you back." A brief applause caused Dumbledore to fall silent. Once it was over, he continued, "This year, there will be something new." All Houses, except, strangely, for the Slytherins, leaned forward, completely interested. The snakes merely looked amused. "For the first time in the history of Hogwarts, we have late-bloomers joining us. Coming from strange and exotic places-" ("Is he talking about _Japan_?" "I suppose so, Marik." "Japan isn't exotic! It's _high-tech_." "For these people, that _is_ exotic.") - "they are here to learn our magic. They will be going into fifth-year, preparing for the OWL's as all other students of that year are. Now, without further ado, let us bring them officially into the school!"

There was some awkward clapping, mostly from the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, where friends sat. McGonagall pulled a second scroll- dark blue in color with white lettering. She cleared her throat, and looked up at the group.

"Bakura, Ryou!"

Ryou felt his stomach drop into his feet and he gulped. He smiled weakly at the group, waving at them. "See you on the other side."

"Go show that hat whose boss!" Marik exclaimed in a hushed voice, lavender eyes bright.

Ryou grinned back at him before nodding to Yugi and Kaiba, earning a smile and nod, respectively. He then walked between the two tables, feeling every eye on his form. He flushed slightly, automatically groping at his chest for the Ring's presence before he remembered it was in the backpack Yugi had on. Shaking his head, he walked over to the tiny stool, managing to sit on it without tangling his legs with those of the stool. McGonagall gave him a tiny smile before plopping the hat onto his head.

There was a moment where Ryou was sure nothing was going to happen when suddenly he felt himself being pulled down, as if his yami had returned and he was being thrown into his soul room. Startled, he let out a squeak before he found himself lying on a comfortable bed with white sheets and black pillows.

"W-what?!" he cried, jumping up and turning around, his eyes scanning the red and purple walls he'd seen time and time again. Pictures of his family were on top of a black casket in the corner, and room was adorned with paintings with occult themes or magical items- witches, dragons, hell-hounds, cauldrons, everything. The only thing that was remotely new was a line of bright green that seemed to split the room into a top and bottom. He took a step to inspect the line, and found it was, in fact, a _crack_.

"What's this?" a strange, male voice asked from behind him, and Ryou jolted, spinning around and staring. A tall person stood before him, dressed in black, baggy, grimy pants and what looked like a dark burlap sack draped over his shoulders. A massive brown and battered hat hid his head, with a pair of yellow eyes blinked out from the darkness under it. It took Ryou a moment to realize that the hat was identical to the Sorting Hat. Suddenly, Ryou understood.

"You- you brought me here? Are you the Sorting Hat?" Ryou asked, his hands no longer shaking. The Sorting Hat nodded, blinking rapidly. He chuckled softly.

"In all my years, I've never had a student actually _follow_ me into their soul room," the Hat said. He looked Ryou over, eyes narrowing. "But you've been here before, haven't you? That's how it happened."

The Hat stepped forward, large, faded, dragon-hide boots clunking against the black and white checkered tile of Ryou's room. Ryou hesitated before nodding.

"Yeah…" Ryou murmured. He turned around, looking at the room around him. He shivered slightly before turning back. "So, you go into soul rooms and see their true selves, and place them in Houses." The Hat nodded, and turned around, looking at the walls and decorations.

"You're a strong soul, Ryou. Strong and loyal. You'd make a good Hufflepuff." He turned and blinked at Ryou. "But there s more to you than just loyalty," he said decisively.

The Sorting Hat spun around and marched towards the wall to the left of the bed in Ryou's room. Ryou followed slowly behind, dread creeping up his spine. The Hat reached out with a thin, pale hand and laid it on the darkest part of the wall, where red and violet ran together and made it nearly black.

The colors swirled, making Ryou gasp, and parted, exposing a black door with a white doorknob. He twisted it, ignoring Ryou's whimper, and opened the door. It led to a dark hallway, where another door lay just a few feet from Ryou's door. It was black, with a golden Eye of Horus imprinted at its top. Red and lilac chains crossed over it, baring any from attempting to gain entrance. The Hat reached up and brushed the golden Eye of Horus, and he frowned, looking down at his hand before glancing at Ryou with a suddenly green eye.

"You are only one-half of the soul, aren't you?"

Ryou's face paled, and he looked away. The Hat nodded, looking back at the door, placing a hand on the eye again. "This half is far darker… but not evil."

Ryou spun around, sputtering and flushed. "Wh-what-what do you mean '_not evil_?!' He turned people into dolls! He pulled an _eyeball out of someone's head_! He _stabbed me_!"

The Hat merely looked at him during the entire rant, eyes blank. Once Ryou gasped for air, the Hat spoke, "Are you done?"

"… Yes."

"Good," the Hat replied. He turned back to the door. "I don't know whoever lived here, but I can tell you he has the soul of a Slytherin, completely." The Hat turned around, amusement shining in his eyes. "Which makes you half-Slytherin."

Ryou blinked, staring at the Hat. "But Yami isn't even _here_ anymore. How could that affect me?"

"Because souls are not meant to be split like yours has," the Hat said simply, walking away from the door and back into Ryou's soul room, inspecting the wall and its green crack. Ryou followed after, closing the door behind him as the Hat spoke.

"They need to be whole. One of two things will occur soon- one, you will either rejoin with… _Yami_-" Ryou squeaked, paling swiftly- "or you will go mad."

Ryou blinked a few times, staring at the Sorting Hat. "Because I'm missing half of my soul."

"Indeed. You will become unstable, magically and mentally. You may even cause your own death in a bout of accidental magic," the Hat said, picking up a papyrus page with hieroglyphics written across it. He smiled, looking over at a still shell-shocked Ryou.

"But I doubt that'll happen," the Hat said confidently, and put the hieroglyphics down. Ryou felt his stomach twist unhappily. Was the Hat implying that the Ring would return to him soon? Could it tell the future? Or would Ryou go mad before it could happen…?

The walls shifted as Ryou's nerves did, and while the albino did not see, the Sorting Hat noticed. However, the magical being kept it to himself, and Ryou watched as its eyes flashed blue for a moment before settling on yellow-green. "I see you enjoy learning, but mostly about Ancient Egypt and the culture. Not surprising, seeing as how your other half is _from_ Ancient Egypt and your father-"

The walls flickered suddenly, darkening several shades. The Hat looked surprised, turning around and looking at Ryou, whose face was still calmly blank, but was looking at the walls. The Hat nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned him. Dumbledore was saying something about him in his office. I managed to overhear him."

Ryou nodded, turning his brown eyes to look at the pictures of his family, sitting on the miniature black casket on the white desk. The Hat hummed softly to himself, walking over to the pictures and gazing at them. They were in pristine condition, signifying Ryou thought often of them.

"You look just like your mother," the Hat finally said, and the walls of the room swirled, violet overtaking more of the red. "Same hair and eyes, same face-shape. But you have your father's nose. Your sister has your father's hair, though. Same eyes as your mother. She was very pretty."

"Yes," Ryou said, voice rough. He cleared his throat. "Yes she was."

"Family means a lot to you," the Hat said softly, turning away from the pictures and the room slowly began to revert to its previous state. He kept his gaze from Ryou, and instead inspected a few more of his shelves.

"You are incredibly ambitious and determined," the Hat said, and Ryou blinked, raising an eyebrow. The Hat continued. "You've always wanted to prove yourself worthy to your father, prove you're not your mother. Even when he practically cut all ties from you…"

Ryou huffed, eyes flashing in anger, and the red of the walls bled outward. The Hat chuckled. "Don't get angry now. I'm just trying to show you what I mean."

The walls settled once more, and the Sorting Hat took a few more steps, leaning down to look at something else. "Clever, ambitious, and incredibly loyal to those who you call friends…"

The Hat straightened suddenly, turning around and landing green eyes upon Ryou, who blinked back at him. He nodded his head.

"Yes, mister Bakura, you are indeed a-"

Ryou was flung back into his body, which had slouched while the Hat had been in place; he straightened and looked around, blinking rapidly in the darkness. The Sorting Hat shifted on his head, and Ryou could feel it suddenly open its mouth.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Ryou blinked as McGonagall removed the Hat, but he smiled nonetheless. It had been an interesting ordeal, if not a trying one. The pit of his stomach still felt like it did when the Hat gave him the news- he would go mad or he would rejoin with Bakura. He just wasn't sure which was worse.

The Slytherin table erupted into cheers, while the Gryffindor table had been stunned into silence. Ryou smiled worriedly at the shocked faces of Harry, Hermione, and the other Weasleys. He then waved at the other three Shadow Mages- who were looking quite surprised at his Sorting- and gave Yugi a good stare. He wished he could impart what he knew- it was going to startle Yugi and Yami, being thrown into their soul rooms!

He walked over to the Slytherin table, and Malfoy was ordering some of Ryou's new Housemates to move out of Ryou's way, so he could sit near him. Ryou suddenly found himself sitting across from the pug-faced, black-haired girl, who was sitting on Malfoy's right. She smiled widely at him, extending her arm across the table.

"Pansy Parkinson. Welcome to the Slytherin table!"

Ryou smiled back at her, taking her hand. "Ryou Bakura. Thank you."

"Ishtar, Marik!"

Ryou spun on in his seat, watching as Marik slowly made his way towards the Sorting Hat. Parkinson leaned over, watching the group with her dark eyes. "So," she said quietly in his ear as Marik sat down on the stool, "anyone else joining us?"

Ryou's eyes darted over the group, falling on the CEO. He whispered, turning his eyes on Marik, "Kaiba- the tall one- says he's going into Slytherin. He's not wrong very often."

* * *

Marik blinked into the darkness for several seconds, still feeling slightly startled at Ryou's surprise Sorting into Slytherin. It his yami had still been around, the Egyptian would have placed all the blame for that on his shoulders. As it were, Marik was only very, very confused.

"_Ah! Here's the second of four. It seems you aren't going to surprise me like your friend did."_

Marik practically leapt off the chair in fright. '_Wha-?! Who's there?!_' That was not the voice of… him… but Marik was not about to take any chances.

"_Ah, no worries, miser Ishtar! I am the Sorting Hat."_

'_Funny. Someone forgot to mention you_ talked to us_ through our heads._'

The Hat chuckled. _"Not to worry. I'm only looking at your soul, seeing where you belong. Let's begin, shall we?_

"_I see that you've had problems in the past with Darkness."_

Marik fidgeted on the chair, trying not to curl in on himself while he was in front of everyone. '_Yes, I have. But I've changed._'

"_I see that, boy,"_ the Hat said affectionately. _"You are afraid of reverting back to that. Or, maybe letting the Darkness take hold of you once more?"_

Marik remained silent.

"_Don't be ashamed of it, Mister Ishtar. All humans fight the Darkness at some point. Some just have a harder time with it is all. Anyway, you are very courageous. Brave, strong, yet cunning. You have some ambitiousness to you, but not much."_

'_I tried to take over the world! What do you mean I don't have much ambition_?!'

"_What was the most ambitious thing you've done recently?"_

'… _By the Gods, you're right…_'

"_It's not a bad thing, either. You're just not the same person as you were before. This is why I think you belong in Gryffindor. You'd make a decent Slytherin, but Slytheirns often attract a lot of… negative attention. You don't need the added temptation of that."_

Marik blinked a few times. While the thought of living with the Weasleys- especially that Ron kid- for the next few months made his skin crawl, the idea of giving _him_ more fuel was far too horrifying to consider. '_I understand,_' Marik said at once.

"_Your friends will stand by you, and you will make more along the way, Mister Ishtar. Congratulations for becoming a-"_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table of red and gold let off a cheer as Marik whipped off the hat, handing it to Professor McGonagall as he stood. He looked over at the last two and grinned at them. Yugi smiled back while Kaiba merely raised an eyebrow at him. Marik waved him off and gave Ryou a thumbs up, and the albino returned it, pausing shortly in his clapping. He the turned around and walked over to the Gryffindor table, taking a seat a few chairs down from Harry and the others. Harry leaned over and patted him on the back.

"Welcome to Gryffindor!" the raven-haired teen said, smiling. Marik smiled back.

"It was either this or Slytherin- the hat decided I'd work best here."

Harry nodded at him, looking thoughtful. Mokuba suddenly plopped down beside him, grinning up at him. "So, we're both Lions, huh?" the boy said with a smile. Marik grinned back, ruffling his hair.

"That's what the Hat decided. Hey, isn't your brother going next?"

Mokuba nodded gleefully, and the two of them swung back around, turning their attention back to the Sorting, and the rest of is House did so as well.

McGonagall shook the dark blue scroll slightly before she peered closely at the paper. "Kaiba, Seto!"

Kaiba nodded briskly to Yugi before glancing over at Mokuba, who was smiling wide at him. Kaiba's lips twitched into an almost-smile before he paused at the stool. Which did not reach his knees. He looked over at the Transfiguration Professor. When she merely stared pointedly at him, he rolled his eyes, pulling out his wand and waved it over the chair before tapping it.

"_Engorgio_," the CEO said, and the stool instantly grew taller. Once it was past his knees, he tapped it again and the growing stopped. He smirked at a startled Professor McGonagall before settling onto the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head, putting his world into darkness.

"_Well well well!_ _We've never had a student perform magic on the stool before. Do you believe yourself to be a Ravenclaw in the making?"_

Kaiba snorted, rolling his eyes under the Hat. '_No._'

"_Ah! A person of little words! Well, let's see what we have here… arrogance, determination, confidence, cleverness, cunning, ambition, a strong sense of family loyalty… good grief. Are you sure you aren't a descendent of Salazar Slytherin himself?"_

Kaiba smirked despite himself, and the Hat shifted.

"_You were expecting this, hmm? You're smart, yes. Very smart. But that's because you are ambitious, not because you have a longing to learn. You learn what you need and nothing more. That's the differences between a Ravenclaw's intelligence and Slytherin's cunning: Slytherins prepare for specific circumstances thoroughly; Ravenclaws just prepare for everything vaguely. Your brother was much harder to do. I kept switching between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. This was far easier than I expected!"_

Atop his head, Kaiba felt the Hat shift and the seam parted. The sentient headwear (Kaiba fought the urge to roll his eyes at the thought) seemed to inhale before yelling:

"SLYTHERIN!"

Kaiba eagerly stood, swiping the hat off his head and handing it to McGonagall. The Slytherin table was cheering once more, and Yugi was standing, smiling at him and waving. Kaiba nodded to him before glancing over at the Gryffindor table, where Mokuba was snickering behind his hands. The black-haired boy merely shook his head, but smiled at his brother. Marik smirked at the CEO.

Kaiba spun around, whipping his coattails into the air and walking swiftly over to the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was once more ordering those around him to shift over in their seats. Kaiba found himself rolling his eyes but sitting next to Ryou and across from Malfoy anyway. The blonde was smirking and Zabini, positioned on the left Malfoy, shook his head.

"You called it. Slytherin. That's two mud- _urk_- muggle-borns into Slytherin in one night. Impressive," the black boy said, nodding sagely.

Kaiba shrugged. "Hn," was all he uttered. Zabini looked over at Ryou, who shrugged at him. "Kaiba's just like that. Don't take it personally."

Everyone's attention returned to the center of the room when McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Mutou, Yugi!"

* * *

Yugi stared at the stool before him, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Kaiba was taller than him by at least foot, and it made sense that he would need to make the stool taller. However, he just left it as it was. And it was now hip level to Yugi. McGonagall was smiling slightly at him, and the snickers rumbling from the spirit in the back of his head did not help the entire situation. Yugi, flushing a little, pulled out his own wand, swirled it over the stool, and tapped the chair.

"_Reducio_," he murmured, and shrunk the chair down to its original size before he sat down.

/ I'm sorry, Hikari, / the spirit finally said. McGonagall struggled for several seconds with the Sorting Hat, which seemed to be repelled by the various spikes of his hair. Suddenly, the hat was shoved down and Yugi's world went dark. He winced as his hair was bent and pulled and tugged as he hat settled.

"Sorry, Mister Mutou," McGonagall whispered. Yugi waved a hand, smiling.

"I'm fine."

Yami laughed in the back of Yugi's mind, and the hikari grumbled inaudibly.

/ I'd like to see _you_- /

Suddenly, Yugi felt himself being thrust from his body and shoved down, deep inside himself. He squeaked when he landed on the soft, squishy comforter of the bed in is soul room. The light blues and greens on the bed contrasted with his black cloak. He shot up, looking around the room, scanning for anything out of place.

"Yami?!" Yugi called upon seeing the brown door to his soul room open. He jumped to the yellow floor, dodging around the toys and games that littered it. He skidded across the floor on his socks and peaked through the doorway and peering into the dark hallway next to him. Suddenly, a second head with equally crazy, but with more blonde, hair poked out of the room next door, blinking crimson eyes back at other.

"Yugi? What are you doing here?"

"Oh! There are two of you this time!"

The two jumped into the hallway, suddenly spotting the baggy, dirty figure of the Sorting Hat standing a few paces away. A pair of brown eyes blinked at the both of them from under the tattered and old hat. Yami stepped forward, clenching his fists and narrowing his red eyes.

"What are you?"

"I," the figure began, "am the Sorting Hat. You and your friend mister Bakura both seemed to have the same problem. When I come down to look at your soul, you get dragged down with me." He inspected Yugi and Yami for a moment more. "Are you… _another_ set of half-souls?!"

When Yugi and Yami nodded, eyeing the creature oddly, the Hat shook his head, mumbling under his breath. Yami's fists unclenched and he took a step back, but kept his gaze narrow.

Yugi cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the two people. "So, you're going to poke around our soul rooms?" When the Hat nodded, both hikari and yami looked over at Yami's doorway. Then looked at each other and winced. "You're going to need a guide," Yami finished.

Fortunately, the walk into the Pharaoh's room was delayed for a chance to first explore Yugi's. The Hat looked at the bright yellow walls, and then to the toys that littered the floor of the teen's soul room. "Innocent… even at this age, you remain so innocent…"

Yugi flushed slightly, grinning, while Yami merely nodded at the hikari. "He's the Light to my Darkness, the purity to my corruption."

Yugi's violet eyes flashed, turning around to stare at the spirit. "You aren't corrupted, Yami," he said in a firm, scolding tone. He smirked at the Pharaoh. "You're just heavy-handed."

Yami rolled eyes, but a small smile fell across his face. The Hat chuckled, reminding the two that they were not alone- for once- in their soul room. The Hat walked over to the small red desk placed next to the bed, and there were many, many pictures on it, each placed in a small frame for protection. The Hat lifted up a picture of a young blonde girl with blue eyes holding a teddy bear. Yugi walked over, peering at the picture. He smiled in remembrance.

"That's Rebecca," Yugi offered, eyes bright. The Hat nodded, his eyes lightening to a vivid yellow color.

"At first glance, I'd call Hufflepuff, mister Mutou. You are so completely loyal to your friends, and so willing to give everyone a chance. It's impressive. You do have courage, yes, but that's not your defining aspect."

The Hat sighed, smiling slightly as he turned around and inspected the toys that littered the floor. He inhaled sharply, taking a few steps forward and looking at a stack of board games that the room had piled into a corner.

"Monopoly, chess, Risk, Scattergories…" the Hat murmured. He looked around the room again, and found another at the foot of the bed. He peered within and found it to be filled with puzzles- a Rubik's cube, several different soma cubes, many mechanical puzzles, and a few puzzle rings- but all were carefully contained and as the Hat picked them up and looked them over, he saw that none had any pieces missing.

"You take care of what belongs to you," the Hat said, standing up as his joints cracked and creaked. He glanced at the two of them.

"Shall we go to the next room?"

Yami winced, but led the way through the brown door and back to the hallway. Here, he paused, clearing his throat eyeing the Hat nervously. "Listen," Yami began, "don't… go poking around."

The Hat raised an eyebrow, but Yami ignored him in favor of turning and grabbing the golden handle of the black door. The Hat was busy admiring the black bricks with multicolor vines growing over it. Yami pushed down on the handle, and then pushed open the door, leading the way into the darkness. Yugi and the Hat followed after. The Hat stopped short, his eyes flashing a multitude of colors before settling on green.

"Well!" was all he could utter was he looked around the maze-like area of the soul room. Stairways and doorways and tunnels were spread throughout the vast space, there seemed to be no end or entrance- as if the mere act of leaving would require you to stumble across the correct door once more. The Hat was jerked form his musings when Yugi chuckled at him. Suddenly, he realized he had been mumbling under his breath, and wisely chuckled back.

"Your other is certainly a complicated soul," the Hat said. Yugi nodded, looking around. Yami shrugged, turning to glance at the stone.

"I'm sorry to say that even _I_ would be hard-pressed to locate a true room in this place. Like my past, it is hidden from me."

The Hat nodded, seemingly unaffected. "That's fine- I can do well enough with this."

The Hat took a few steps forward, throwing open a doorway, ignoring Yami and Yugi's startled cries. A spike shot forward, and the Sorting Hat sidestepped swiftly, dodging it. The spike retracted, and the Hat closed the door.

"You are a private person," the Hat said simply, and Yami nodded faintly, staring at the green-eyed figure wearily. "You fight, yes, but only when you need to."

The Hat looked at the maze once more. "A master strategist. Even unconsciously, you've hidden yourself from any intruders in a most clever way- mazes require cunning to complete, and you, spirit, hold a lot of cunning."

Yami smirked at the praise, and the Hat chuckled. "And pride." He circled Yami, making the spirit glare at him for the inspection. "You've never given up anything in your life. If you have, it's because someone forced your hand, isn't that right?"

Yami winced, and nodded. Yugi flushed slightly, glancing at his feet. The Sorting Hat nodded. "So you are determined, and ambitious."

Yami chuckled, crimson eyes flashing. "I was royalty, you know."

The Hat's eyes widened, and their green deepened. "Of course. So I suppose it wouldn't surprise you for me to say you'd fit well in Slytherin?"

Yami shook his head. "No. And while I'm sure I contain many Hufflepuff qualities, I'm not Hufflepuff material, right?"

The Hat laughed. "Certainly not!" He turned his eyes upon Yugi, who'd remained silent for their conversation, and nodded to him.

"Would you like to hear your ruling, Mister Mutou?"

Yugi blinked, eyebrows rising. "I thought I was Hufflepuff?"

"Yes," the Hat nodded, before shaking his head, "and no. You would work in Hufflepuff, but you would also work in _Slytherin._"

"What?!" Yugi yelped, jerking back slightly. "I-I'm not clever, or cunning, or determined, or ambitious!"

The Hat chuckled. "You most certainly are clever and cunning. You and your Yami both share those qualities in equal amounts, and you are just as determined at him. While you would work best in Hufflepuff, you would do well in Slytherin."

The Sorting Hat's eyes glowed to a yellow-green, but far greener than normal. "Since you are two sentient beings in one body, I must ask you to decide how you wish to be Sorted. It would be unfair for me to decide who would is going to sacrifice."

Yugi laughed outright at the Hat, drawing the green-yellow eyes and Yami's crimson ones. "I'm a _Hufflepuff_, Mister Sorting Hat! I'm going to have to say pull me out- I'll go into Slytherin."

"B-but Yugi!" Yami cried, but Yugi smiled at him.

"Besides," he began, "how else are you going to duel Kaiba on a regular basis?"

Yami chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "You really are a Hufflepuff."

The Hat clapped his hands together. "Wonderful!"

Suddenly, Yugi felt as though someone had lassoed his torso, and was pulling out the Yami's soul room.

"See you later, Yami!" he cried as he felt himself pulled back into their body. It took a moment for his eyes to readjust to being in the dark. His neck was sore from leaning sideways, and he could hear the crowd mumbling around him. He sat up straight again and the hat on his head fidgeted.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table erupted into cheers once more. Yugi pulled the hat off, and his hair sprung back into its previous shape, startling the Transfiguration Professor. Yugi smiled at the piece of fabric. "We'll try to visit you later," he mumbled. The hat seemed to twitch in response, and Yugi handed the hat to McGonagall, smiling. She looked completely bewildered at the turn of events, and Yugi then slid off the stool.

He grinned over at the Gryffindor table, where Marik was clutching his sides, laughing. He then noticed the look on Ron's face- which was frozen in a cross between shock, horror, and disgust- and bit his lip to keep from smiling. Mokuba waved at him, and Yugi returned the gesture. Spinning on his heel, he headed to the table, where the Slytherins were automatically shifting around to make space for Yugi.

"So," Blaise said once Yugi had been seated across from him and next to Kaiba, "that's three of you guys in Slytherin and one of you in Gryffindor. There's something we can lord over them!"

Yugi turned around, looking at Marik. The blond was talking, somewhat reluctantly, with Fred and George. Suddenly, the violet-eyed teen remembered their deal he'd made with them and stifled a groan. He swung back around, staring dejectedly at his plate. Kaiba, once putting two and two together, rolled his eyes.

"You did it yourselves," was all he uttered, and a moment later the food appeared on the table, jerking the three newcomers out of whatever they had been doing into looking at the food. Yugi's jaw dropped open.

"Wh-wha-what?"

Malfoy laughed at him, rolling his eyes at his response. "Good grief, I keep forgetting you three aren't like the rest of us. Magic?"

Yugi blushed, nodding swiftly as he began to shuffle food from the trays onto his plate. Ryou grabbed a few pieces of meat for his own plate. He scanned the table, frowning.

"Do you see any veggie dishes?" he asked, turning to Kaiba. The CEO rolled his eyes but glanced down the table. "Yeah. There's a salad. Why? Do you want some?"

"Wha…? Oh, no," Ryou said, smiling slightly. At Kaiba's arched eyebrow, Ryou continued. "Marik's a vegetarian. I wanted to see if they had anything for him."

Malfoy blinked, chewing on a piece steak himself. He swallowed and said, "If he's desperate, he can request that the house-elves in the kitchen make him something."

Ryou exhaled, nodding. "That's good." He ate a few more pieces of his meal before pausing, looking up at the blond. "Uh… how would I get the attention of a house-elf?"

Malfoy's nose twitched, and Zabini and Parkinson were both smiling into their meals. Ryou flushed lightly, but shrugged. Malfoy finally smirked. "I'll tell you when we get to the common room."

Ryou smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

When the students had eaten their fill and the conversation level had increased, Dumbledore rose to his feet, smiling. The hall was instantly silenced.

"Now that we've all ate our fill, I'll have to ask for your attention for some start-of-term announcements."

Crabbe and Goyle grunted, placing their elbows onto the table and staring at the Headmaster with dull eyes. Malfoy, spying this, hissed at them and reached across Parkinson to poke Goyle's upper arm with his fork. His dark eyes blinked over at Malfoy who shrilled quietly, "_Elbows off the table_!"

"Malfoy!" Zabini hissed, rubbing his ears. However, Goyle jerked away from the table as if he had been burned, and jabbed Crabbe hard in the side with a sausage-like finger. Crabbe, seeing his folly, fell away from the table and almost out of his seat, but was saved by Goyle's quick reflexes. Malfoy buried his head into his hands, shaking his head. Yugi coughed lightly to cover his smile.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was talking. "The Forbidden Forest is, as it's name should suggest, off limits to all students."

Malfoy was mumbling under his breath. "Unless your last name is _Weasley_, _Granger_, or _Potter_."

The Slytherins around them snickered, and Dumbledore went on. "Our caretaker, Mister Filch, has told me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes, along with several other objects. A list can be found fastened to Mister Flich's office door."

/ I wonder if _all_ magic is forbidden? / Yami chuckled from the back of their shared mind. Yugi smiled slightly.

/ Probably, / the host replied, / but I doubt he'd catch us anyway. /

/ Ha! And you thought you weren't Slytherin _at all_. /

Yugi shook his head, and returned his attention to Dumbledore. "We have two changes in staff this year. Professor Hagrid had fallen ill during the summer with a bad case of scrofungulus, for which he is following Madam Pomfrey's advice and taking a long vacation. In his stead will be Professor Grubby-Plank."

As the elderly woman who led the first years to the castle stood and waved, Malfoy shivered. Ryou looked over at him. "What?"

Parkinson answered. "Scrofungulus," she said, "is a magical fungus that grows in your lungs and uses magic to grow and practically eats your lungs. Nasty stuff. At later stages it spreads spores to infect others. Normally it's fatal if it isn't treated right away, but half-giants are rather resilient to it. The great oaf should return sometime after Christmas."

Malfoy frowned. "Oh boy," he mumbled. "I _love_ Hagrid. He always has the best creatures. All of them love to gore and mangle students. Just _lovely_."

Zabini laid a hand on the blond's shoulder while Parkinson attached herself to his left arm. "Oh, you poor thing!" she soothed. Crabbe and Goyle crackled their knuckles in a threatening manner. However, Dumbledore was speaking again.

"Once again, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Umbridge comes from the Ministry, so she is well-informed and knows her subject well."

From the table rose a squatty, pink-clothed woman with mousy-brown hair. Her face was flaccid, as if someone had inflated it and let all the air out recently. Her cheeks, however, were bulging out, as if the air had merely been relocated to her mouth. Yugi shivered, and Ryou opened his mouth. "She looks like a large, pink _toad_."

Dumbledore didn't seemed to notice that Professor Umbridge hadn't sat back down. "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams-"

"_Hem-hem_!"

The entire hall stilled and turned in unison to the great, pink woman with a large, ugly smile planted on her face. Dumbledore stilled only for a second before he planted himself into his chair and stared at her as if there was nothing better to do than listened to what she had to say. Malfoy's jaw dropped open.

"By Morgana," the blond murmured, "she _interrupted him_."

"Is that bad?" Yugi said, turning back to look at the teen. Malfoy shrugged.

"Not sure," he said, "but I must tell Father about her."

Then suddenly, the large woman was talking with a shrill grating voice that made Malfoy and Zabini flinch. Parkinson looked stricken while Crabbe and Goyle appeared unable to understand such a tone. Ryou's mouth pinched and Kaiba groaned, placing a hand to the ear nearest to the noise, the other gripping his fork tightly. Yugi forced Yami into control, and slammed his own soul room's door shut to block out the noise.

/ Yugi! _Traitor!!_ /

"Thank you for those kind words of welcome." Here she cleared her throat once more- "_Hem-hem!_"- causing Zabini to clutch at the table, a dark eye twitching. "It's _so_ good to be back at Hogwarts! And to see little faces full of happiness beaming up at me!"

Malfoy looked mortified. "I… my eardrums… I think Father would kill her after a few moments of speaking…"

As Umbridge continued speaking, the Slytherin table found themselves turning inward, ignoring her. Except for Zabini, whose narrow eyes were watching her as he gripped the table's edge tighter and tighter with every syllable. Malfoy patted his shoulder, earning a wince from the handsome teen.

"Oh, just let me listen," he murmured, flinching when the woman went shrill, "and then I will allow you-" he flinched once more, darting his eyes to where Umbridge stood- "to comfort me."

Malfoy nodded, removing his hand. At the three foreigners' questioning glances, Malfoy shook his head. "Later," he uttered, and the Slytheirns went back to zoning out the new teacher's speech.

Once she had finished, none of the Slytherins applauded her. Some of the other tables had, sparingly, but the snakes stared silently. Yami pushed Yugi back into control once more, grumbling. Yugi only smiled.

Zabini, a bit peakish, leaned forward, dark eyes glowing. "Well, it looks like the Minister has finally had enough of Dumbledore."

Malfoy inhaled sharply and Parkinson squeaked beside him, and they turned and looked at the black teen. Zabini continued, smirking sickly.

"Basically, she said that the Ministry is going to be interfering with what's going on at Hogwarts. Through _her_. She's like a legal spy."

Malfoy blinked. "I bet she was a Hufflepuff," he said suddenly. Parkinson stared at him.

"Why? She's _spying_."

"Yeah, in the open!" Malfy returned. "A Slytherin would go under the radar. She's loyal only to the Minster- a Hufflepuff."

Parkinson shrugged before looking up as Dumbledore spread his arms once more. "The Headmaster is releasing us. C'mon, Draco."

The two of them stood, and Malfoy gestured to the three newcomers. "Follow us."

Kaiba, Yugi, and Ryou stood, and watched as Parkinson and Malfoy tried to gather the newest Slytherins. Kaiba turned around, spying Mokuba waving rapidly in his direction. The CEO nodded in his direction, purposefully ignoring Marik, who was also waving. Yugi and Ryou, however, waved in return. Kaiba stared at them.

"If you're done?"

With a final wave, the trio spun around just as Malfoy and Parkinson had gathered the other first years to lead them to wherever they would be sleeping. Yugi stepped up, leading the trio to follow the Prefects.

Malfoy lead the group of first-timers through the door to the entry hall- the one that they had entered to get into the Great Hall the first time- while Parkinson stopped just behind the last first year, Zabini walking with her. Malfoy paused at the first doorway in the room, and the other Slytherins- except Zabini- walked past them, disappearing behind a massive marble staircase. The Hufflepuffs shuffled past them and through the nearest door, avoiding looking directly at the Slytherins. Malfoy quirked his eyebrow in amusement before turning to his group.

"This stairway leads to the kitchens, and the Hufflepuff common room. No," Malfoy said, rolling his eyes when a few Slytherins raised their hands, "I _don't_ know where their common room is exactly. We just know it's_ there._ This staircase," Malfoy gestured to the large marble staircase just beyond the doorway to the kitchens, "leads to the first floor."

He then stepped forward a few paces, pausing next to another door on the other side of the marble staircase. He gestured to the door on the far wall. "That way leads to a bunch of classrooms. Don't worry about which ones, since most of you will only be going to the regular classes." His grey gaze shifted to Yugi, Kaiba, and Ryou before he turned back to the door. "It also leads to the courtyard. You'll see a lot of students there during break times."

He then turned to the door they had paused by, and smirked. "This leads to the dungeons." He walked forward, gripping the handle and pulling it open, and a gust billowed past him, sending his cloak flapping around him. He chuckled at the startled faces behind him. "C'mon, we're not at the snake pit yet."

The dungeons was frigid, and Yugi was instantly glad that Marik, used to the blazing Egyptian climate, had not been forced to live down here. Malfoy paused, allowing the first years to gather around him. "Follow this hallway all the way down to get to the Potions Classroom. Our Head of House, Professor Snape, has an office on the other side of the room. He doesn't like to be disturbed," here he paused ominously, and the first years stared at him as if he was telling them the meaning of life, "so if you have to bother him, make it worth his while." He turned around and gestured to them to follow him.

Ryou, try as he might, found himself twisting his neck to try and remember how to get from the stairway down to the common room, but the sheer size of the dungeons made it impossible. Malfoy came to a stop in front of a blank wall.

"If any of you could remember the way down here, I'll be surprised," the blond uttered, much to the relief of the Slytherins. He sneered. "For the first few weeks, you will have a Slytherin fifth year or higher leading to and from your classes."

The group exhaled as one. Malfoy turned to the blank wall. "This is where our common rooms are. Just say the password clearly. For now, the password is 'scarab-beetle.'"

A section of the wall shivered and slid open. Malfoy stood off to the side while the first years slowly slid inside, ushered by Parkinson and Zabini. He came last, the wall sliding shut behind him.

Ryou stared at the common room, eyebrows rising. The room was long and low with rough stone walls. Small, green globes hung from the ceiling on chains. Large windows showed that the common room was actually underwater, for there were several fish swimming past them. There was a elaborately carved mantelpiece in the middle of the wall ahead of them. A dozen or so high-back chairs surrounded the fire. There was only one couch in the whole room which reminded Ryou of the sofa in the drawing room of Grimmauld place, complete with the moss green cushions, black wood, silver highlights.

The stone wall behind the slid open once more, and all the students instantly looked back over their shoulders. The dark, menacing form Snape came gliding through the hole, which sealed behind them. He looked over the crowd before gesturing to the chairs around him.

"Sit."

There was a sudden scramble as the first years tried to get the chairs furthest away from the foreboding teacher. The trio looked at each other, amused, and grabbed the first three chairs and watched as the Head of House strode to the middle of the room, turning his black eyes on each of the students in the room.

"Congratulations," he began, "for getting into the House of Snakes."

Murmured 'thank you's greeted this announcement, and Snape merely brushed them off. "I am your Head of House, Professor Snape. I teach your Potions class. As Slytherins, it is your duty to succeed in all of your classes, but Potions is the one class that you must, as Snakes, excel in. I expect nothing less from my snakes."

Here several gulped. Ryou was instantly glad he knew how to cook, for many of those techniques could be used in potions-making. Snape sneered at them before he spoke once more.

"Many will not view your being in Slytherin as something to be celebrated. We are viewed as dark, evil, horrid- the House that birthed the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

/ Dictator Dark… / Yami murmured, and Yugi broke into a coughing fit to hide his spontaneous laughter, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. He smiled weakly. "Sorry," he offered, and turned his gaze to the floor.

/ Yami! Are you _trying_ to get me in trouble?! /

Yami's response was a chuckle. Snape continued. "This is why Slytherins are also very, very loyal to family. Because _that_ is what being part of the Slytherin House is- being part of a family." He glared at the group. "You protect your family."

/ By Ra, it's like those _mafia_ stories Grandpa told us about, Yami. /

Yami snickered once more. Snape, unable to hear the disrespectful tones from within Yugi's head, went on. "You are intelligent, cunning, determined, clever, ambitious- you are not _evil_. Evil is not a trait, it's a choice, a point of view. And each of you have that choice. Others have the point of view."

He frowned at the students, staring at them. "You must stand united at all times. For the outsides to perceive weakness is for the outsiders to win. You must not let this happen."

He gestured to the door. "If you need me, tell the someone form the older years until you can get to my office on your own. Do not waste my time, however, or you shall regret it."

The room nodded briskly, and Snape nodded back. "Good. Now, I shall return you to Mister Malfoy and Miss Parkinson. I shall see you all in class tomorrow."

Cloak-tails billowing out behind him, the Potions Master left the common room in silence. Parkinson stepped forward, gesturing for the first years to follow.

"Alright, the first years sleep down these stairs…"

She left with the first years following behind her, leaving Yugi, Kaiba, and Ryou with Malofy and Zabini. The black-haired teen stepped forward, chuckling at them. "Since all the fifth-year Sytherins are privilege to this information, you wanted to know what was wrong with me during dinner?"

Yugi and Ryou shared a looked before the violet-eyed teen turned back to black teen. "Uh, yeah. I don't want to do anything to bother you. You seemed like you were in pain."

Zabini waved it off while Malfoy chuckled behind him. After Zabini silenced him with a glare, he turned back to the trio. "It's because the high-pitched noise makes me nervous. I identify it with a warning call, that I'm going to be attacked."

At their blank stares, Malfoy chuckled. He leaned forward, placing his hands on Zabini's shoulders. "Zabini is an eighth Veela."

Ryou stared dully at him. "Oh," he finally uttered. He shared a look with Yugi and Kaiba before looking back at the two wizards. "What's Veela?"

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: … (Ish dead)

This is my longest chapter yet. About twenty-eight pages without the Sorting Hat's song and these notes. Thirty-two _with_. So, were you surprised? I'll have you know that Yugi/Yami and Kaiba have been bounced around since this idea's conception. Kaiba was originally going to be Ravenclaw, and Yugi/Yami in Gryffindor. Then they switched. And switched. And switched. Mokuba was even in Ravenclaw at one point, but then he was back in Gryffindor. I'm happy with this, though, so I hope you guys like it too!

One of the reviewers expressed something I've been thinking about- the Japanese names. It would make so much more sense if the characters used their Japanese names, wouldn't it? The only reason I didn't was because I don't want to tackle the honorifics. However, if I'm not expected to do it, I'd being willing to use the Japanese names. That means:

Téa Gardner to Anzu Mazaki  
Tristan Taylor to Hiroto Honda  
Joey Wheeler to Katsuya Jonouchi  
Duke Devlin to Ryuji Otogi

… and everyone else stays the same. I just don't want to mess up the honorifics. Silly, I know. Also, I'm not sure which is the first name and which is the last. I've tried looking it up, but it confuses me. O.o So, if was going to do this, could someone direct me to a site that could help me out with it? Or, heck, just tell me in a review or PM? That's be great. So:

**POLL THE AUDIENCE**: Should Phate switch from the English names to the Japanese for the above names? _Yes_ or_ No_

_Also_: If anyone who is in this for the romance and is particularly picky about who is paired with who, I'd be more than willing to disclose the _two_ for-sure YuGiOh parings I have. I'd rather you leave now, knowing, than later because you were disappointed. So, yeah. I'd just ask that you _not_ say what they were, for the sake of others who don't want to know. See you next time!

**Works Cited****:**

(1) – Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . Chapter 11, Page 204-207.

**CHAPTER TITLE**: ORDO - _classification, order (as in biology)_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ School starts! After so long with Shadow Magic, Neo-Magic is going to be a cinch! …Right? And Marik promises he will not kill Ron. He will not kill Ron. He will not. He will- … Can he at least maim him a little?_


	13. Cotidie

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hey everyone! The polls are in, and, in a whopping upset, the fanfic shall now be written with dub names! Hooray! …_Mostly_. Seeing as my fic!Ryou is British via dubness, he's British with a Japanese name. _Marik_ will still be _Marik_, seeing as how _Marik_ and _Malik_ are interchangeable, and whenever I see _Malik_ I think _malice_, so it's distracting. XD When I have more time, I'll go back and edit all the previous chapters to make them work. Thanks for everyone's input!!

_Also_: I still haven't read the actual seventh Harry Potter book, but I am reading the Spork of it. It's _brilliant_, and makes me _really glad_ that I haven't read Deathly Hallows yet. XD

_P.S._: Sorry- no Ron-maiming. XD

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:  
****COTIDIE**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _The Sorting! Marik and Mokuba go to Gryffindor, while Kaiba, Ryou, Yuugi, and Yami spend time with the Slytherins. Oh, and Zabini's part Veela. … What?!_

* * *

Ryou awoke the next morning confused and bewildered, smothered in green blankets and large, fluffy black pillows. He sat up, looking around at the silver curtains that were pulled around his bed. He looked down at himself, and saw he was wearing his own blue pajamas, so that wasn't wrong. Suddenly, Booger squeaked, and it came rushing back to Ryou.

He was a Slytherin, mostly because his _yami_ had been a Slytherin. It made sense in a sadistic sort of way- Yami had always chosen where his life led in the past, so why not now? He pet the green puffskein once and pulled back the curtain, scanning the fifth-year dormitory. The walls were dark and looked damp, but Ryou knew that it was just an affect. Even if they were under the lake, there was enough magic protecting them that it would be impossible for anything to drip through. The same dark wood made their beds, and the floor was a grey stone. He shivered when his bare feet touched, but didn't mind it so much. Walking quietly over to his trunk- all the others had their curtains drawn, so he assumed he was the first one up- he pulled a few articles of clothing to wear underneath his robes and headed toward the bathroom.

Malfoy had led them down the stairs in the back of the common room that night. As the years grew, the farther down the students walked. Malfoy said it was something about how the Slytherins would want the first years to escape first in case of an attack. Ryou thought it was because the farther down it was, the warmer it got.

By the time Ryou had finished his shower, he was no longer the only one awake. He stepped out of the bathroom, hair wrapped in a towel and dressed in his robe and clothing. He was adjusting his tie when he stepped into the common room, blinking owlishly at the others who were staring at him. He flushed slightly.

"Um… yes?"

"So," one of the older students finally asked, green eyes narrow, "you're a mudblood?"

Ryou had been expecting this confrontation, he just hadn't expected on dealing with it _alone_. He blinked a few times before he finished with his tie and turned his brown eyes onto the teen.

"If by 'mudblood' you mean my family doesn't have any magic in it except me, then _yes_, I am," he uttered before tilting his head forward and glaring, channeling the look his yami used to give him. This might have been more effective if his hair wasn't wrapped in a towel, but Ryou had little time for doubt. He coupled it with a smirk, and immediately his hand dove into his pocket, clutching the Millennium Eye tightly. The magical green lights began to flicker. "Maybe you'd like to see what I can do?" he hissed, baring his canines as he sneered.

His act paid off- the older student blinked a few times at him before leaning back in his chair, eyeing him. Ryou straightened, letting the expression fall from his face. He turned his chin up and marched back towards the staircase and disappearing down them. He slipped into the fifth-year room, closing the door behind him. He exhaled, leaning against it.

"Ryou? What's wrong?"

The albino looked over at Yuugi, who was pulling on his robe. Ryou laughed suddenly, pulling the towel from his head and wandering slowly over to his bed, ignoring the odd looks he was gathering from the other fifth years.

"I don't think they like me much," he finally said. Malfoy's grey gaze narrowed and he glared at the door.

"Slytherin laid down the rules _explicitly_. Slytherins take care of their own. No exceptions."

Kaiba pulled a violet shirt over his head and shot Zabini an estimating glance. "Is that why Zabini isn't ostracized?"

Zabini chuckled, nodding. "Pretty much. First and second year, they were pretty cool towards me. I made a few friends in Ravenclaw during that time. However, once the heir of Slytherin thing stared up, everyone began to avoid the Slytherins and Potter. They dropped me, and Malfoy picked me up."

Malfoy beamed under the praise. "Exactly," he said smoothly. "Plus, Zabini is awesome."

"And I won't use my Veela charms on you losers."

Nott paused in pulling his shoes on and threw a pillow at him. Zabini ducked, chuckling at him, and the dirty-blond raised an eyebrow, saying, "Right. You haven't come into your Vileness yet, Zabini. You're just as human as the rest of us. For now."

Zabini shrugged. "Well, you'll just have to be careful when the time comes, won't you?"

With that, the black part-Veela strode from the room, smirking over his shoulder. Crabbe and Goyle looked confused. Malfoy waved them down.

"I'll explain later, you two," the blond acquiesced. He then smirked. "But, hey, I want you to make sure that none of the other Slytherins- or anyone else for that matter- even _think_ about laying a hand on these three, got it?"

Crabbe gave an affirmative grunt and Goyle nodded stiffly, both cracking their knuckles. Kaiba looked disgusted by it, and glanced over at Malfoy.

"We can take care of ourselves," the CEO said. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of spells can you cast _right now_?"

Kaiba chuckled, grabbing up his metal briefcase that never left his side. "Spells do you no good if your opponent is close." He glanced over his shoulder at the fuming Slytherin. "However, I appreciate the gesture. And you're right about that- at long range we'd all be screwed."

Malfoy nodded thoughtfully, and Nott took that moment to slide from the room. Malfoy's eyes tracked him until he was gone. He turned back around and picked up his _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger and stuffed it into his bag. Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that you'll be using that book today?"

Malfoy chuckled at him. "Professor Snape is not only our Head of House, but also my Godfather. _Of course_ he's going to tell me when we have Potions! We'll have a half-break after it, so just grab your Potions stuff and we'll come back for the other stuff later."

Ryou and Yuugi looked at one another and shrugged, grabbing their bags and stuffing their Potions textbooks inside. Kaiba popped open his briefcase and placed the book and some quills within, too. The group grabbed the sides of their cauldrons and hoisted them up. Malfoy chuckled at him.

"C'mon- we'll go drop them off in the classroom before Professor Snape leaves. He'll keep our stuff safe."

Malfoy paused for a moment, turning to look at Ryou for a long moment. "You. You're birthday is today, right?"

Ryou flushed lightly, thinking back to their brief conversation with Zabini. "Yeah."

"Happy birthday, then, Bakura."

With that, the blond swiftly exited the room, and Ryou was shocked still. "What… what just happened?"

Goyle chuckled. It was a low, grunting noise like an animal would make when they rooted around for food in the dirt. "Malfoy just wished you a happy birthday."

Crabbe joined him. "He makes it his business to learn all Slytherins' birthdays, just so he can be the first to say it. It's a Malfoy thing- his father does the same thing in the Ministry."

Ryou nodded numbly, and Kaiba rolled his eyes, jabbing him in the shoulder lightly. "Do you want us all to say it? Happy birthday. Let's go."

Ryou jolted. Yuugi chuckled at him. "Happy birthday."

The white-haired teen flushed and shot forward and up the stairs, as if attempting to flee the awkwardness of the situation. He could hear Goyle and Crabbe chuckling at him as they followed him down the stairs.

Ryou paused in the common room where Malfoy was engaged with a quiet conversation with another one of the boys in Slytherin- the very one who'd questioned Ryou that morning. Whatever Malfoy was saying had an impact, for the seventh year student was nodding, a strangled look on his face. Malfoy, however, looked calm. The only sign of his displeasure was the way his grey eyes had brightened to silver.

"I'm glad we had this talk, Derrick. You'll make sure word spreads, right?" Malfoy said, a small smirk lighting his face at last. Derrick nodded once, but he never lost the strangled look. Malfoy patted his shoulder, eliciting a wince from the teen.

"Good."

He turned around, his robes dancing around his ankles and caught sight of Ryou. He walked over, stopping to pick up this bag and cauldron from the chair he'd placed him in before the confrontation.

"Where are Mutou and Kaiba?"

Ryou looked back at the stairs just as Yuugi and Kaiba came up them, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy gestured for them to follow him.

"We'll head to the Potions classroom first, then on to the Great Hall for breakfast."

Ryou nodded and Kaiba grunted. Yuugi smiled at him. "Alright."

* * *

"C'mon, Marik. It isn't _that_ bad."

"Mokuba, my motorcycle is quieter than Ron. I slept out _here_."

Mokuba looked down at the large red couch the two were sitting on with hard armrests and saw how small it was. He grimaced, looking at the dark circles under Marik's eyes with a new understanding. The blond Egyptian nodded, stretching out his back and wincing as he heard it crack and pop a few times. He tugged gently on the Millennium Necklace around his neck and adjusted the black cloak he was wearing.

"…Ah," Mokuba said at last, glancing up the stairs behind the couch where the sounds of the rest of their new House was rousing. Marik rolled his eyes, standing up and stretching again. It felt weird to have on a black cloak again, especially after the fiasco with the Rare Hunters…

Shaking his head to rid himself of such negative thoughts, Marik turned to Mokuba, offering the kid a hand. "Yes, '_ah_.' Now, c'mon- maybe we can get down there before the anti-Slytherin brigade marches down. I want to have a decent conversation with them before we're interrupted."

Mokuba nodded, eyes brightening at the thought of seeing his brother, and grabbed Marik's hand, allowing the teen to pull him to his feet. The two Gryffindors began to make their way out of the warmth of the red and gold common room and through the portrait hole, avoiding the calculating gazes of the few other Gryffindors in the common room following them. Marik glared over his shoulder once they had turned around the first corner.

"It's like they think I'm going to suddenly start cursing them!" the Item Holder bemoaned to the Vice President of KaibaCorp. "I mean, did Ron _really_ have to announce that I almost went into Slytherin?"

"Actually, you said it the moment you sat down."

Marik waved his hand through the air. "Yeah, but Weasley had to go and a huge deal out of it!"

Mokuba shrugged, looking around at the hallways. After a moment, he started off down one of them, and Marik followed behind.

"I mean," Marik continued, getting into the rant, "it's not like I _am_ a Slytherin! And who cares if three of the people I hang out with go into Slytherin! I mean, your _brother_ is a Snake! Why don't they bug you about it?!"

Mokuba paused in front of the doors to the Great Hall, surprising Marik at how easily the raven-haired youth had found his way back down here. Then the first year was talking.

"It's because Seto and I are so different," Mokuba said, shrugging. He then chuckled, turning his blue-violet eyes on Marik's. "I think Ron was just shocked by Ryou's Sorting into Slytherin, and decided to take it out on you. I think they had a bet going, with only Fred and George saying Slytherin. They made five galleons, I think."

Marik stared at him for several seconds. "The twins thought that Ryou would end up in Slytherin?"

"I know. I bet Hufflepuff."

"Mokuba!"

Mokuba only laughed before rushing into the Great Hall, leaving Marik shaking his head. The lavender-eyed teen walked in after, scanning the tables to see if anyone was there. The Ravenclaw table had several students there, most pouring over texts or conferring with each other over notes. Which was odd, Marik thought, since there had been no classes yet.

Mokuba had paused by the Slytherin table, dutifully ignoring the narrow glares being sent his way by its House members. Marik walked over, sitting down at the very end of the table and gesturing for Mokuba to do the same. He propped his chin up on his hand and laid his elbow on the table, staring at the empty plates in front of him. Mokuba shrugged and took a seat across from him. Marik turned, looking down at the incredulous faces of the Slytherins.

"When does the food arrive?"

One of the braver second year boys- a dark-haired, blue-eyed kid- frowned at him and leaned down the table, amongst hissing and startled teens. "Why can't you go sit at your own table?"

Marik quirked an eyebrow at him before shrugging, looking at the doors to the entrance of the Great Hall. After a moment he turned back and said, "I'm waiting for a few Slytherin friends and I figure it'll be easier here than at the Gryffindor table." He stared hard at the teen, making the Slytherin flush and sit back in his own chair. Marik shook his head. "What's your name?"

"Baddock," the blue-eyed kid said. Marik nodded.

"Ishtar," Marik responded. "Do you Slytherins _all_ only use your last names, or is it just some formality thing?"

"Oh, it's a formality thing, but all Slytherins are very formal and proper," a familiar voice said from behind Marik, and the Egyptian looked over his shoulder to see Malfoy leaning against the doorframe. Yuugi, Kaiba, and Ryou were standing behind him, and flanked by the two trolls, whoever they were. Marik grinned.

"Ahhh… that explains a lot," Marik called, rising up and abandoning his seat. He walked forward, nodding to Malfoy before walking past him and stopping front of Ryou. He smirked at he albino before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small package and pressing it into Ryou's hand.

"Happy Birthday, Ryou. Seventeen!" Marik exclaimed. He spun around, smirking at Yuugi who was smiling slightly himself. "How does that make you feel, oh youthful innocence?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, striding past them. "Frodo feels like a hobbit," he called over his shoulder. Yuugi flushed dramatically, and stomped his foot before stalking forward.

"_Stop calling me that_!"

Malfoy was shaking his head, snickering. Ryou looked at him, confused. "Why are you laughing? That's a Tolkien reference. Muggle."

Malfoy shook his head, rolling his eyes as he walked by them. "Tolkien was a Squib. Of _course_ I'd know about it!"

Ryou and Marik stared at one another for a long moment before they stepped forward to take a place at the table. Mokuba had quickly engaged Kaiba in a conversation- meaning the younger brother talked while the older listened attentively. Malfoy took a seat a little ways from the end while Yuugi, Marik, and Ryou sat in the last few seats. Baddock was staring at Malfoy with wide, surprised eyes.

"M-Malfoy! What's going on?"

Malfoy sighed, looking over at the younger years with dull eyes. "This is Ishtar. He's Gryffindor, but he's an honorary Slytherin."

Marik waved slightly before reaching out to stab a suddenly-there pancake from his. Malfoy gestured to Mokuba and Kaiba, who were ignoring everyone else in favor of their conversation. "And Mokuba is Kaiba's brother. _Family_."

The Slytherins at the table nodded in understanding, and Baddock flushed. He scratched the back of his head and leaned forward down the table, ignoring the annoyed cries of the girl sitting next to him. "Ah, sorry then, about earlier, Ishtar."

Marik waved his hand. "Doesn't matter. Pass the strawberries!"

As Marik gathered the assorted fruits for his pancakes- dutifully ignoring the sausages and bacon- Malfoy leaned forward, keeping and eye on the entrance. "Ishtar," the Slytherin began, "you're going to have Potions with us first thing. Eat quickly and get your cauldron and Potions text."

Marik paused mid-bite, fork still in his mouth, and nodded. He chewed a few times before swallowing. "Alright Malfoy. Let me guess- for my ears only?"

"Yeah," Malfoy said, sneering, "let the other Lions rush back to their rooms. We'll wait here for you."

Marik grinned at him. "That works for me."

More students from all the Houses began to pour into the Great Hall, and the Slytherin table began to fill. Word spread quickly that Marik and Mokuba were both off-limits to any sort of negative attention. They were merely extended family. Yuugi once again was reminded of the mafia and had to muffle his laughter.

While the others took their time with their meal, Marik quickly rushed through his pancakes before departing, leaving the room just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered. Ryou, Yuugi, and Mokuba waved to them, ignoring Malfoy's disgusted groan. Harry managed a wary and weak wave back while Hermione only smiled tightly at him. Ron grunted and stormed back to the table, mumbling under his breath. Harry and Hermione quickly followed. Yuugi frowned after them.

"That was rude," the Duel Monsters Champion grumbled, stabbing his waffles. Yami brushed against him mentally, a soothing gesture.

/ Ron was apparently right the other day, / Yami murmured through their link. / As long as we're Slytherin, we have no place in their lives. /

Yuugi frowned at his waffles before pushing away the plate, sighing. Ryou smiled sadly at him, leaning his head to the side. Malfoy shrugged at him.

"Potter's hung out with that Weasel too long," he began, "so he's taken on some of his more… _extremist_ views."

Kaiba looked up from his conversation with Mokuba, blue eyes dark. "You mean 'anti-Slytherin' views."

"Exactly," Malfoy nodded, turning back to his plate of sausages and pancakes.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, and Ryou could already hear what Kaiba would say next, and was both proud of Kaiba, and horrified on his behalf.

"Kind of like the whole 'anti-Muggle' thing the Dark Lord has going on."

The Slytherins as one paused in their eating, a few of them twitching as the mere mention of Voldemort. Malfoy turned and looked hard at Kaiba, as if by giving him his most burning gaze the teen would be able to undo what he'd said. Kaiba, however, remained unfazed by the look. He merely smirked in return before going back to his plate and taking a bite of egg. The grey-eyed Slytherin seethed.

"I would suggest," the blond growled in a low tone and between clenched teeth, "that you _not_ mention something like that here."

Kaiba shrugged, glancing at Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. Although he was sitting calmly, Ryou could tell that the CEO had one hand on the Millennium Rod, and the albino quickly gripped the Eye in his pocket. Yuugi stiffened beside him, and Ryou wondered if Yami would take over. Finally, the CEO smirked.

"I'm only making a comparison," Kaiba said mockingly. "You forget that _we_ are both Muggle-Born and Slytherin." He dropped his voice so only Malfoy and the Shadow Mages could hear him. "Which is stronger, Malfoy? The ties to Slytherin's House unity, or those to your Dark Lord? How safe are we living amongst those who would kill us if we were elsewhere? How safe is _my brother_?"

Malfoy's hand tightened around the fork in his hand, but he nodded stiffly, turning his eyes to the side. "I see your point," he uttered. His grey eyes finally met with dark blue. He leaned forward and hissed, "Don't act like a damn Gryffindor in your attempts to show it to me, though."

Kaiba chuckled darkly, turning back to his plate. "I do what I have to do, Malfoy. I run a company- it's something I've picked up."

Zabini, having been seated next to Malfoy and listened to the whole conversation, chuckled nervously before clearing is throat. "So," he said a bit too loudly, "Quidditch tryouts this Friday, eh? Anyone going?"

The Slytherin table, recognizing that their self-appointed leader had dealt with the problem, immediately refocused on the new topic. Yuugi and Ryou relaxed, but Kaiba and Malfoy remained stiff and guarded. This was the picture that Marik returned to, and eyebrow lifting as he plopped down into his previously empty seat.

"Er… what'd I miss?"

At that moment, Professor McGonagall scurried over, flustered and annoyed. She was holding two pieces of paper. "Misters Ishtar and Kaiba! I have been looking all over for you! I have your schedules."

She pressed the pieces of paper onto Marik and Mokuba before giving the rest of the table a sharp look. The table of Slytherins- save for those who had stayed at Grimmauld Place during the summer- glowered back. She nodded and strode back to the teacher's table. Marik looked down at it, blinking.

"I only have Potions before lunch? Sweet!"

Mokuba looked over his schedule and rose quickly, smiling apologetically at his older brother. "I have to go get my supplies. See you later?"

Kaiba nodded briskly reaching over and squeezing Mokuba's shoulder. The black-haired teen beamed at him before fleeing the table and leaving the room, a few paces ahead of the rest of the Gryffindors. As Mokuba left, another, darker, presence came forward. Ryou stiffened quickly before relaxing as the presence- Snape- paused at their end of the table.

"I have your schedules," he said simply, holding up a large stack of papers with a potion-stained hand. "Arrange yourself by year and last name- _A_ to _Z_ for you dunderheads out there- and first years first."

The Slytherins quickly and efficiently gathered their schedules, which they just as quickly compared with their neighbors. Snape walked down the table, pausing when he came to Marik. He raised an eyebrow at him and Marik quickly grinned.

"Honorary Slytherin, uh, sir."

Snape rolled his obsidian eyes over to Malfoy, who nodded once, smirking slightly. Snape eyes gleamed with something dark before he spun around, glaring over his shoulder. "Don't be late for class."

He strode away, and Malfoy chuckled lightly, standing up and stretching. "That's his way for saying 'stop stalling and get to class.' Let's go." He turned to one of the sixth years, pointing at him.

"Warrington! You've got the first hour off, right?"

Warrington nodded, glancing at his schedule. "Yeah," the brunet said after a moment. He looked at the first years and glanced back at Malfoy. "Goose?" he asked.

"Goose," Malfoy confirmed. Warrington stood up stuffing his schedule into his pocket. With a sigh, he clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the table. "First years, if you would follow me. We're heading to the common room where you'll have five minutes to get your-" he leaned over, gazing at a first year's schedule- "Charms books and your Transfiguration supplies. Then we'll head off to Charms."

As Warrington and the other sixth and seventh years quickly filled in the spots as 'Goose' for the first years, the second through fifth years quickly left the room, heading for their classes. The fifth year Slytherins- and Marik- walked back down to the dungeons. The Shadow Mages held back a bit, trying to keep out of hearing range. Yuugi looked at Kaiba.

"What were you doing before?" he whispered, eye bright with concern. Kaiba shrugged, smirking slightly.

"Those," Kaiba began, switching into Japanese when he saw they had gathered some attention from around them, "with Death Eaters in the family each flinched when I mentioned… _Dictator Dark_."

Marik blinked at him, lost. There was no excuse for the bewildered looks on Yuugi and Ryou's faces, however. At least Marik hadn't been there. Yami appeared beside him suddenly, and Kaiba leaned over, whispering into the spirit's ear, lips barely moving. Yami nodded, and floated alongside Yuugi as they made their way into the Potions classroom. He spoke quickly, retelling what the CEO had shared.

"Malfoy, Parkinson, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle. That's all he knows by name right now."

"Wonderful," Marik grumbled, threading his way through the large, four-sided tables and plopping his cauldron down on the table before sitting down on Yuugi's right as Yami vanished. "You're rooming with four of them."

Ryou sat across from Marik and on Yuugi's left while Kaiba said across from Yuugi. Ryou shrugged, flipping open his own textbook. "We'll just have to be careful. Nothing we're not used to anyway, right?"

Yuugi laughed nervously, darting his eyes around to the three people that had been after his blood at one point or another. "I can safely say I'm used to it."

Kaiba smirked, laying open his cutting and stirring tools and inspecting them. "We're all used to it. This just puts us both closer and farther from the dangers out there."

It was at that moment that the Gryffindor fifth years showed up, rushing in a massive wave. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked past, Ryou and Yuugi once more lifted their arms in greeting. The trio paused beside the table, looking uncertain for a few moments. Yuugi quickly acted.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. "How was Gryffindor tower?"

Harry shrugged, visibly relaxing somewhat. "Same as usual. Quiet. More so than usual…"

Harry's bright green eyes flashed behind his glasses as he turned to look at a brunet boy with a red and gold tie glaring at the back of Harry's head. His eyes narrowed when Harry turned back around and swung viciously around, smacking his cauldron with his arm, to talk to a black teen in a Gryffindor tie. Yuugi raised an eyebrow while Kaiba grunted.

"The Gryffindor House isn't the House of loyalty," Kaiba reminded the black-haired teen. "It's because of the Daily Prophet, right?"

Harry nodded, face pinched. Hermione tugged on his sleeve, dragging him away from the group. "Harry, we have to sit down!"

Harry nodded glumly, and Ryou smiled at him. "We'll talk later Harry!"

Just as Hermione, Ron, and Harry managed to plop down in their seats, the door banged open, granting Professor Snape entrance. Ryou jumped, and Marik flinched beside him, both snapping around to stare as their Potions Master strode through the center of the room. He paused, turning his dark gaze on the class before his lips twisted into a sneer.

"I would have said I am glad that none of you killed yourselves over the summer from your own incompetence-" his eyes landed on the Golden Trio, where Harry and Ron's gazes narrowed instantly- "but that would be lying. Turn to page four-hundred ninety and read the directions for the Draught of Peace."

Books were suddenly being opened around them, but the four Shadow Mages found themselves frowning at one another as Snape wrote more directions on the board. He slammed the chalk down, causing several people to jump from their reading, and marched over to their table, glaring down his nose at them.

"So, you four are at first year levels…?" he murmured, mostly to himself. He grumbled, striding over to the cabinet on the far side, flicking his wand and summoning several vials of odd bits and pieces and laid them on the table where the rest of the ingredients for the Draught of Peace. He sneered, once more raising his voice.

"Make sure to grab the right ingredients. Some combinations of these ingredients are explosive."

Neville Longbottom whimpered pathetically from the front of the class, where he was sitting with several girls. They all looked nervous to be sitting next to him, as if he'd suddenly combust at any moment. Snape turned back around to the group of new students. "You will be making the Boil Cure Potion on page seventy-three. I will be hexing one of you with boils, so be sure to do it _correctly_."

The group nodded at him, watching him stride away to yell at a Gryffindor. Marik sighed, leaning back in his chair. They quickly turned their pages to seventy-three and began to read.

* * *

"Well, at least they all worked," Ryou offered sympathetically as the group walked from the Potions classroom. Marik mumbled something and walked slowly after the group of fifth years. He winced with every other step, having not quite gotten all the boils from his right foot with the potions that were made. Kaiba was smirking.

"Maybe you should walk _all_ the way to the Hospital Wing."

Marik winced again before punching the Slytherin on the arm, growling. "Shut up Kaiba."

Kaiba shrugged. Yuugi, however, smiled suddenly. "We could ask Crabbe and Goyle to carry you there."

The two trolls, who had been following behind them since Potions, stared at Yuugi for a moment. Finally, Goyle shrugged. "We could. But not bridal-style. Over the shoulder or no."

Marik paused, lifting up his foot and staring at the two with an incredulous expression on his face. "… Fine!"

A moment later, Marik found himself draped over Goyle's shoulder, staring awkwardly ahead while his feet hung limply behind Goyle. "Well," he murmured as the two moved up the giant marble staircase to the next floor, Kaiba, Ryou, Yuugi, and Crabbe trailing behind them, "at least my feet don't hurt as much."

* * *

It was a few hours later- after Transfiguration, lunch, and Ancient Runes- that Marik found himself sitting next to Harry Potter, flipping through his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. The group had read through the first few chapters that summer, and Kaiba had been correct- it was a theory course, not there to teach how but _why_. The door opened behind them, so Marik stilled, closing his book and craning his head around to watch as the pink-clad woman waddled between the desks, smiling brightly at the students as she passed. She paused at the front of the classroom, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Wands away, please! We will be reading_ silently_ today!"

Marik slid his wand into his cloak pocket, frowning. Harry looked even more upset, and opened his mouth to say something. Marik darted out and pinched the teen's thigh.

"_Shush_!" Marik hissed, lavender eyes flashing. Harry clenched his jaw and balled his fists for a moment. He then placed his wand back into his pocket, folding his hands into his lap where he squeezed his fingers. Marik looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and Harry stared back at him, green eyes flashing, and nodded.

Umbridge smiled pleasantly at them, waving her own wand around the air and chalk began to write the assignments on the chalkboard. Marik's eyes narrowed at this. "Hypocritical…"

Harry smirked slightly before turning to his book, but Umbridge decided to speak.

"Feel free to begin," the shrill voice grated. However, Hermione shoved her hand into the air, nearly smacking Ron in her haste. "Excuse me, Professor?"

Umbridge blinked her dark eyes at Hermione, mouth opening slightly before she smiled sweetly, sidling up near Ron's side of the table. The redhead looked disgusted and ducked his head towards his book. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"This book," Hermione said, tapping it with the feathered end of her quill, "explains the theory behind the use of Defensive Spell, but not how to actually _use _them. Will we be doing that work in class?"

Umbridge's smile took on a particularly awful note, twisting up in a way that reminded Marik of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She walked slowly back to the front of the class, eyes narrow. "Why on Earth would you need to learn Defensive Spells? Who could possibly hurt you here?" Before anyone could say anything, she barreled ahead. "I must tell you that this is a Ministry-Approved program, and as such you will be expected to perform as _I_ say, for I answer directly to the Minister. The Minister has seen that your education as taken a backseat to… _unfounded_ panic attacks brought about by _eccentric_ beliefs."

Harry was slowly turning red in his chair, while Ron had already turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. Hermione sat calmly while Umbridge spoke, but her hand was wrapped firmly around Ron's, hidden by their table. Marik felt as though he was sitting next to a time bomb, and his fingers instantly dove to his Necklace, hoping for some warning before the explosion.

Nothing.

"Now," Umbridge continued, walking briskly down the aisle next to Marik and Harry's desk (Marik was thanking the Gods he'd chosen the side closest to the aisle now) where she paused next to their table and eyed Harry, "I ask you _again_: what could _possibly_ hurt you?"

Harry growled next to him, and Hermione looked pale. Ron was clutching onto the side of the desk, and the other students were looking at Harry expectantly. Suddenly, Marik's vision filled with light.

When it cleared, Marik found himself floating next to his desk. He couldn't see himself, but that wasn't the point of the vision, so _of course_ he wouldn't see himself. The Egyptian's eyes instantly focused Harry, who was standing, yelling at Umbridge. The world darkened, and the scent of blood filled Marik's nose. The scars on his back stung.

It was all over in a second, and Marik was back in his own mind and body. He could feel Harry stiffen in his chair, and Umbridge was towering over them, sneering. Harry was going to explode, and his Millennium Item had warned him. Now, he just had to fix it. Then, a plan came to the Shadow Mage.

Marik let out a mocking laugh, shutting up the Boy Who Lived. Marik leaned backwards, channeling his older self and focused a cruel note to the laughter. When he stopped, he sneered at Umbridge, her face blotchy with rage.

"Need I remind you," Marik began, ignoring Hermione's wide-eyed stare of horror and Harry's small noise of protest, "that an archeological dig containing myself and another student was attacked over the summer by a band of rogue wizards?" Umbridge's face took on a purple hue which made the red of her face darker. "We certainly could have used some Defensive knowledge then. Maybe Ryou's father would still be alive now?"

Marik stared at her harshly, feeling Harry still in the chair next to him. '_Good_,' Marik thought. '_Can't let Potter do something stupid. The Pharaoh would kill me._'

"De-detention, Mister Ishtar!" Umbridge shrilled when she found her voice. "F-for talking so _rudely_ to an instructor!"

Marik smiling winningly at her, leaning his head to the side slightly. "At what time, Professor?"

"Five! My office! Tonight!" she snapped before marching up her aisle and to her desk, slamming her chubby fist down on the top. "As _I_ am the teacher here, I will be teaching you as _I_ see fit! Now, _read the first three chapters_!"

Marik couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

* * *

Marik couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

"Are you _mad_?!"

They had only left the Defense classroom when Hermione had pulled him, Harry, and Ron into an abandoned alcove with a large, painted-glass window of a centaur, and rounded on him. He sighed, looking blankly back at Hermione.

"Look," Marik began, "the Daily Prophet reported the attacks on Ryou's father's dig as a band of rouge wizards. The Ministry _approved_ that message. I'm just using it to fight back a bit," Marik countered. He jerked his thumb over to where Harry was leaning against a wall, looking slightly annoyed. "Potter was about to start screaming about Dictator Dark, which was _what she wanted_," the Egyptian Mage said, turning to look at Harry. "She's out to get you, Potter. I'm just placing myself in front of you. People don't believe that _he's_ back. Not right now, anyway. You, who has been so _utterly destroyed_ in the public's eye, spouting off about him in front of Umbridge wouldn't be seen as brave- just reckless."

Harry flushed slightly, but nodded. His green eyes were still narrow with annoyance. Hermione frowned at Marik, but her features had softened slightly. "Alright," she said after a moment. "We all need to keep our cool."

"Great!" Marik said, looking out into the hallway. "I have to get to Ryou and warn him that Umbridge might pull some crap on him tomorrow in class." He turned around, smiling at his Housemates. "See you at dinner!"

Marik rushed off down the hallway, leaving Hermione, Ron, and Harry in the alcove. Harry sat down on a nearby bench, rubbing his temples. "He's right, you know," Harry said after a moment. Ron blinked at him. Harry continued. "I _was_ going to start shouting off about Voldemort." Harry ignored Ron's and Hermione's flinches and stared after Marik, smirking quietly. "I guess I owe him one."

Ron looked particular unhappy about that, his face twisting into a frown. "I dunno. I still think he's just trying to get onto your good side so he can turn you over to the Slytherins."

Hermione looked over at him, exasperated. "Ron," she started, slowly, as if talking to a child, "we've known them for over _a month_. Malfoy has known them for _two days_." She stared pointedly at the redhead. "I doubt that he's been able to sway them to You-Know-Who's side by now. Besides, Marik's in Gryffindor!"

Ron frowned at her, shrugging. "I'm just saying that there's a reason that those three got into Slytherin. Besides, _Wormtail_ was in Gryffindor, and look where he ended up!"

Harry flinched at the mere mention of the animagus's name, and he glared at Ron out of the corner of his eyes, the anger that had been buried from the previous class came burning back to the surface. Ron, sensing danger, held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, mate, but I just want you to think about it."

Harry inhaled, closing his eyes, and attempted to reign in his temper by focusing on his Occlumency shields, exhaling. When he had, he blinked open his eyes, he found the concerned faces of Hermione and Ron staring back at him. He smiled tiredly, waving his hand through the air.

"I'm sorry. … I'm fine," he said after a moment. Hermione gave him a harsh look, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "It's just stress is all. I'm _fine_."

Hermione nodded slowly, gripping tighter to her bag. Harry could tell she was struggling to hold her tongue, and he smiled at her in appreciation. "You know how it is. Long summer, dementor attack, the Dursleys…"

Ron chuckled, coming around and wrapping an arm around Harry, who stiffened at the contact. "We get it Harry. We're just worried about you."

Harry shifted out from under his arm, smiling at him. "I know, I know. And I'll try harder. Especially with Umbridge."

Ron's stomach growled then, and Harry laughed, shaking his head. Hermione sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She grabbed Ron's shoulder, pulling him towards the Great Hall. "Alright, come on you two."

Shaking his head, Harry walked along behind them.

* * *

Marik paused in front of the large, wooden door that would lead to his detention. He knocked gently, rocking back on his heals. He had been right- Yami was pleased that Marik had kept Potter out of trouble, but seemed worried about him.

"_While I'm glad you kept Harry out of more trouble," the spirit had said through Yuugi's body, "but you have to take care of yourself as well." His violet-and-red eyes shone with a nervous light before he turned from the meal and stared at Umbridge, who was attempting to make small-talk with Snape. "Don't underestimate her. Her soul is drenched in Darkness."_

Marik knocked on the large door. He had no intention of pissing off Umbridge- if Yami said someone was corrupt, the best plan of action was to avoid them. He just wanted to survive this night's work, and then he'd stay out of her hair. … _If_ he survived…

The doorknob quivered, drawing Marik from his musings. He smoothed his cloak before the door opened, showing a smiling Delores Umbridge in her pink clothing. She stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter her office.

"Ah, Mister Ishtar! Right on time!"

Marik slipped into the office, blinking at the assault of pink on his eyes. He frowned slightly, but was immediately pleased when he saw that there were plates with kittens on them- moving, meowing kittens- all over the walls and shelves of the Professor's office. He walked over to one, admiring the young Egyptian Mau.

"You like cats, Professor?" the Item Holder asked, smiling softly when the Egyptian Mau meowed at him, brushing up against the glass of the plate. Umbridge came up beside him, looking at the pink and blue plate.

"Yes," she began cheerfully, "they are my favorite animal! Do you like kitties, Mister Ishtar?"

Marik smiled winningly at her. "Of course. My family has very… _traditional_ beliefs. We love cats."

Umbridge ushered him over to her desk, where he sat down in a high-backed chair. A piece of parchment and a long, thin black quill with a dark read feather sat next to it. Marik looked over at her.

"Lines, Professor?"

"Indeed!" she chirped. She looked down at the black quill for a moment before smiling at Marik. It made his stomach churn in nervousness. "You must write 'I shall not be rude.'"

Marik looked down at the quill for a moment, feeling strangely apprehensive about using it. He noticed something odd. "Professor, I seem to be missing ink."

The smile on Umbridge's face grew wider, and Marik felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Oh, this is a special quill, Mister Ishtar. You won't be needing any ink."

She turned away, gazing out her window. She exhaled happily, a soft smile replacing her wicked one. Marik turned back to the quill, and let his hand stray towards the writing utensil. It hovered over it for a moment, before he finally touched it. The room faded from his eyes instantly.

The scent of blood once more filled his nostrils, and there was stinging pain lashing along his back, as though someone was slashing the hieroglyphics into his back once more. In the darkness, lines glowed red, reading '_I shall not be rude_.'

Marik coughed, suddenly returned to his own body. The Necklace settled on his neck, and Marik wondered if it had been like this for Isis. Finally, he looked over at the quill, knowing that there was something horrible held within it. He gulped, reached out once more and picked up the quill. Thinking fast- he definitely didn't want to use this thing- he concentrated his Shadow Magic on the quill, and pressed it to the parchment, before attempting to write an _'I'._

Nothing.

He tried once more, feeling gleeful. He looked behind him, frowning at the back of his Defense Professor. "Professor Umbridge?" he began, and the woman turned around, a smug look on her face. Marik looked down at the quill in his grasp. "The quill won't write."

"_What_?!"

Umbridge rushed forward, snatching the quill away from him. She inspected it, tapping her wand on it, before handing it back to him. "There is nothing wrong with it," she snapped, dark eyes narrow. "Try again."

Marik grasped the quill in his hand again, and focused on the hollow, black tube. He pressed it against the parchment and tried writing once more. He felt the Shadow Magic blocking the Neo Magic in the quill, preventing it from doing whatever it was supposed to be doing. He pressed harder, frowning more, and tried again to write. Nothing.

Umbridge snarled, snatching the quill from his grasp and the parchment from under his elbow. She ripped off a corner of it before thrusting the parchment back at Marik. She swung back around, marching to her window, where she pressed the piece of paper against the wall and made a quick stroke with the quill.

She gasped, making Marik jump in his seat. He watched as blood dribbled from a strange cut on her left hand before it instantly sealed itself. Umbridge swung around, glaring heavily at the Egyptian. "For some reason, the quill doesn't seem to work for you," she growled at him. "So you shall use your own quill and ink, and I want _four feet_ of lines done before you leave, or else you will come back tomorrow!"

Marik gulped, jumping to his bag and pulling out his quill and ink. He set about doing the deed, knowing he'd never finish before the end of the detention. '_With every victory_,' Marik though bitterly, '_there must be a defeat_.'

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: I hope everyone liked this chapter! It's going to get exiting from here on out- I'm actually writing chapter _outlines_ now! And don't worry, Harry won't be getting out of Umbridge's bad graces forever. It's only a matter of time…

_Also_: Obama won. XD

**CHAPTER TITLE**: COTIDIE - _daily_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ Marik talks to Hermione about the strange quill in Umbridge's office. Quidditch tryouts occur, and the Shadow Mages are forced into it! And what's this? Has Harry found his better half?!_


	14. Torqueo

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Ah-haaa… I seem to have made a _minor_ error on the other chapter. I said we were switching _to_ the dub. I should have said we were switching _from_ the dub. ;O.o Since we're switching to the Japanese names, I've been running around and trying to learn how to use them. So, uh, if any of you see me make a mistake, I'd _really _appreciate you telling me right away so I can fix it.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:  
****TORQUEO**

* * *

_**Last Time**_**:** _Marik had a bad day, but managed to keep Harry out of trouble. He's in detention, having avoided Umbridge's sinister black quill. Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba are sleeping in the same room as several Death Eater children, and the rest of the Slytherins seem loathe to follow the traditional Rules of Slytherin. Oh, and Ryou's a legal wizarding adult now._

* * *

Even while Marik scribbled his detention away, Ryou, Yuugi, Yami, Kaiba, and Malfoy were holed up in the Slytherin fifth year dorm. Ryou was surrounded by five packages, each wrapped in bright paper. Yuugi and Yami had parked themselves on the end of the albino's bed, grinning eagerly at him as Ryou looked over the five gifts.

There was the small, white box Marik had given him, the basketball-sized box in green wrapping paper from the gang in Domino- Yuugi (and Yami by default), Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, Grandpa, and even Otogi all chipped in for the gift; the flattish, large package wrapped in brown paper was from the Weasleys, the book-shaped present wrapped in blue paper was from Ron, Hermione, and Harry, and the last one wrapped in black and silver paper was from the Kaiba brothers, though Kaiba admitted that Mokuba was the one who picked it out.

Ryou grinned at Yuugi, plucking the large green box and placing it in front of him. "I think I should start with this one," Ryou said, tapping the present with his pointer finger.

Yami chuckled softly, rolling his eyes to look at Yuugi, who was kneeling, leaning forward and rocking slightly in anticipation. Ryou shook his head and carefully peeled open the paper. Malfoy, who was researching the properties of moonstone for his paper in Potions, looked over at the small gathering- not that he could see Yami- and smirked.

"_That's_ how you unwrap a present," Malfoy said, nodding slightly. Yuugi frowned at him, and Malfoy continued. "Savor the moment. Those of you who don't have riches to fall back on don't normally get nice stuff all the time."

Ryou shook his head, grinning, and continued his show unwrapping, trying not to tear the shiny paper. "Not to full of yourself, hmm?"

Malfoy shrugged, turning back to his book, tapping the feathered part of the quill against his ear. "Not at all," he said, "I live comfortably. _Very_ comfortably."

Kaiba, who had been looking over the notes for, Ancient Ruins, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology, looked over at young blond, an eyebrow rising. "Father's rich, I'd assume."

"Very. Comes from several investments my great-great-great-great grandfather Cepheus Malfoy made into dragon reserves." Malfoy sneered. "Father wanted to name me after that accomplishment. I was almost Cepheus Draco Malfoy, but Mother wanted it the other way around, and what Mother says, Father obeys."

Ryou, finally done unwrapping the box and about to open it, looked over at the Malfoy. "Draco Cepheus Malfoy?" the albino asked, blinking. Malfoy turned his harsh grey gaze upon the brown-eyed teen.

"Yeah," Malfoy said, almost hesitantly. There was a warning in his tone, as if the name itself was some sort of sore point. Ryou shrugged.

"Oh," was all he said before he turned back to the box, and pulled the top off of it. Ryou looked inside, and gasped. Malfoy sat up, watching as Ryou pulled a flat area with a six-inch, circular structure on it. Ryou set it aside and pulled out three more six-inch structures, one of them having a pointed top. Yuugi was smiling brightly as Ryou lunged across the bed and wrapped him into a hug.

"The _tower_?! Oh, Yuugi! I can't _believe it_!"

Yuugi laughed at him, squeezing him back. "We all knew that you'd been pining after it for awhile, but you couldn't afford it for your Monster World game. So…"

Ryou laughed again, squeezing the teen once more. He whispered into the teen's ear, "That one was for Yami."

Yami smiled once Yuugi passed on the message, nodding his head. "I'm glad you liked it."

Ryou's face seemed to be stuck in a smile, while Malfoy had leaned over, looking over at the plastic map piece. Ryou placed the large circles of the diorama on top of each other, and sat back, admiring the structure. Finally, Malfoy could take it no more.

"What is _that_?" the blond inquired, blinking at the foot-tall piece. Ryou smiled at him, brown eyes bright.

"It's a map piece to a RPG I play," Ryou blurted. He cleared his throat at Malfoy's deepening confusion. "Ah, sorry. It's a game, where the players act like small figurines and go through a story. It has a lot of map pieces to play on, and this is one that's rather recent on the market."

Ryou smiled brightly at Yuugi and Yami. "I'm going to have to write the others to thank them for it!"

Yuugi nodded, gesturing to Thoth's empty cage. "Thoth's up in the owlery whenever you need him."

"Thank you," Ryou said before placing the tower, box, and green paper aside and reaching for the black and silver box. "I wish Mokuba could be here for this," Ryou murmured. Kaiba looked over at him.

"Don't worry about it," the CEO said, "I'll be sure to relay your_ every facial movement_ to him."

Ryou smiled at him, his eyes bright with amusement. "Thank you Kaiba." He turned back to the package and, with the same care as before, peeled the paper from it. Setting it aside, the white-haired teen lifted the top of the large box, and peered inside. Ryou squeaked, face flushing slightly, and he looked over at Kaiba, whose expression was mixed between amusement and discomfort.

"You're not going to hug me, are you?" Kaiba asked after a moment. Ryou bit his lip and shook his head. He openly smiled after a few seconds and said, "Not if you don't want me to. I will, however, give your brother an extra hug, which he may give to you if you wish."

Ryou turned back to the box and pulled out a large, black display case with gold trim around its edges and doors. Ryou automatically knew what it was- he'd been saving up for one for some time: a character holding case. It would hold all of his Monster World characters inside the doors- which had glass windows to see through- to keep them safe and out of the way. He peered at the back- wall mountable. He looked up at Kaiba, grinning.

"Thank you, Kaiba. This will really come in handy," Ryou said, hugging the display case to his chest. Kaiba waved it off, but his eyebrows were furrowed in thought. Ryou placed the metal case back inside the box and placed it to the side with the map piece. Malfoy, whose eyes had been caught by the case, looked over at Kaiba.

"Are _you_ from a rich family?"

Kaiba sneered, crossing his arms in front of him and leaning back slightly. "While Mokuba and I didn't start from scratch, I'm a self-made man. I own my own company."

Yuugi grinned at Kaiba. "Runs it really well. Definitely in our area, anyway."

Kaiba rolled his eyes while Ryou chuckled and snatched Marik's box up. Ryou could already tell it was going to be a Duel Monster's card. But, Ryou thought as he carefully pulled the white paper off of it, what would it be?

He lifted the top off the small box, and pulled a small envelope out that lay on top of a small pile of white tissue paper, through which Ryou could see the back of the card. Ignoring the card for a moment, he turned to the envelope, pulling out a small piece of paper with Marik's scrawl written on it.

_Ryou,_

_Hope you enjoy this birthday. Wish I could be there to celebrate with you, but the Slytherins would kill me when I got there, and the Gryffindors would kill me when I got back. Enjoy your day!_

_Marik_

_PS: I got these cards from a perfectly legal distributor. If he got them perfectly legally, I wouldn't know._

Ryou chuckled, rolling his eyes slightly. He passed the note over to Yuugi, who had the grace to look scandalized while Yami snickered beside him. Ryou then turned back to the box, and began to pluck out the pieces of tissue paper within. He pulled the three Duel Monsters cards from the box, turning them over in his hand.

"Dark Magician of Chaos," Ryou murmured, looking down at the staff-wielding figure, "Adhesive Explosive," he said, looking at the effect card, "and a Necro Mannequin," said Ryou as he looked over the misshapen dummy. He grinned at Yuugi. "Quite a good haul!"

He leaned over, holding the cards out for Yuugi and Yami to see. Kaiba even rose from his chair and walked over to inspect the cards. Kaiba shrugged. "It definately fits your dueling style."

Ryou nodded, slipping the cards back into the box. He set it aside, coving it with the lid, and turned back to the two remaining gifts. He grabbed the book-shaped present from Harry, Hemione, and Ron and peeled off the blue paper. He shook his head, grinning. "They sent me a Defense Against the Dark Arts book," he chuckled, "'_Defending Against Darkness and Shadows_.'"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Why would they send you a book for that class? We already have a textbook for it."

Kaiba looked over at him, frowning slightly. "We won't be learning anything from that book, I guarantee it."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and went back to his Potions book. Ryou, however, set the book aside and grabbed the large, brown package from the Weasleys and pulled it into his lap. He untied the twine bow at the top, and pulled the wrappings off. Ryou then lifted the top off, exposing twelve chocolate covered cream puffs. Ryou whimpered, and immediately grabbed one and began to eat it, eyes rolling upwards. Yuugi snorted into his hands.

"Pretty good, Ryou?"

Ryou, incapable of speaking, moaned, leaning back against the headboard of his bed. Yuugi snickered while Malfoy had leaned over and looked at the tiny chocolate covered pastries. "What are they?"

Yuugi grinned. "Cream puffs. Ryou's absolute _favorite_ thing in the whole world. Good thing I… _accidentally_ let it slip, huh Ryou?"

Ryou nodded, looking down at his fingers as if he was trying to find every speck of the delicious pastries. Finding none, he cleared his throat and covered the treats, smiling slightly at the rest of them. "If you're nice," he said slyly, "I might let you try one."

Malfoy snickered. "With a reaction like that," he said, "I might as well try."

Ryou grinned, feeling happy and wonderful for the first time in a very long, long time.

* * *

It was well past ten o'clock when Marik finally stumbled into the red and gold Gryffindor Common room, rubbing his sore right hand. It had cramped several times, but Marik had managed to get out two feet of writing before his time ran out. He blinked blearily into the room, surprised to find that there were still a few people up and sitting on the large couch in front of the roaring fire. Marik wandered over, and found Hermione, Harry, and Ron sitting on a couch and Mokuba all sitting in an armchair, talking quietly. He chuckled, drawing their attention.

"So, did you decide to stay up and wait for me?" he asked, and Harry nodded at him. Marik smiled back. "Thanks."

Marik slid down into a cushy red chair, cradling his hand to his chest. He frowned at the fire for several seconds before he turned to look at Hermione. "What sort of quill do you use for writing lines?"

Hermione blinked a few times, leaning her head slightly to the side. "Just a regular quill, why?"

Marik frowned, remembering the vision he'd had from the quill, the sting on his back, the scent of blood, the red letters…

"I think," Marik said after a moment, "she's using something far worse than an ordinary quill…"

Marik quickly began to retell his experience with the quill- leaving out the vision and instead talking about how the Shadow Magic within had reacted badly to it. Hermione looked thoughtful, tapping nails on the arm of the couch. "I've never heard of that sort of quill before. And you said she was _bleeding_ after she used it?"

Marik nodded, stretching out his hand absently. "I'm just glad I decided to block it," he grumbled. Hermione eyed him, frowning slightly.

"I'm going to ask you about that one day," she vowed, her brown eyes bright, "but I'll wait. Right now, I think we should go to bed. Tomorrow, we're hitting the library."

"What?" Ron yelped, sitting up. "Why?" Hermione gave him a withering look before patting his cheek fondly.

"If that quill isn't part of the normal punishment routine," Hermione reasoned, "then we might be able to get rid of that woman."

Harry's eyes brightened instantly, and he jumped to his feet. "Sounds like a plan!" he agreed. Marik chuckled at this, rising to his feet as well. "So, when do we meet?"

Ron sighed, standing up pulling out his schedule from his pocket, glancing at it. "Uh… after Herbology works good for us."

Hermione and Marik quickly pulled out their own schedules and nodded. "Sounds good." "I'm free then as well."

Marik looked at the three of them before scratching the back of his head. "Would you mind if I brought my friends as well?"

Ron grumbled, running a hand through his hair before wandering over to the staircase. "Whatever," he growled. "I'm heading to bed then. See you all in the morning!"

Harry watched as Ron climbed the steps before yawning himself. Hermione grabbed his shoulders and marched him forward a few paces. "Off to bed with you as well!"

Harry nodded, running a hand through his tangled mess of black hair. "Alright. G'dnight."

"Good night, Harry."

"See you in the morning, Potter."

"Night Harry!"

Harry looked down at Mokuba, raising an eyebrow. The younger black-haired Gryffindor sighed, pulling himself up. "Fine, I'm coming too."

As they left, Hermione sat back down, grabbing her school bag and pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill. "Alright Marik," she began, "tell me once more _exactly_ what the quill looked like."

Marik rubbed his eyes, wincing- he was in for another long night.

* * *

After a mind-numbing hour-and-a-half History of Magic session ("Is your _entire_ history about goblins wars?!") and a quick Transfiguration class ("Ron, you're supposed to Vanish your snail." "I think it looks a bit paler, though!" "That's because you poked it pretty hard last time and _killed it_." "…Oh."), Marik found himself sitting at the Slytherin table with Ryou, Kaiba, Yuugi, and Mokuba.

"…So I think I've already got the match-to-needle thing mastered," Marik said, pausing to stuff a forkful of greens into his mouth, which he chewed eagerly. He laid the utensil down, looking around them to see who was listening before he leaned forward.

"I know I told you guys at breakfast that Umbridge gave us a pretty rough time-"

"And you a detention," Kaiba interjected, smirking. Marik glowered at him.

"Yes, and me a detention," he snapped before continuing, "but I just wanted to warn you the great toad is probably going to make a move on Ryou."

Ryou choked on his bite of sandwich, coughing and beating on his chest as he leaned over his plate. The Slytherins down the table looked up to see what was wrong and Ryou sputtered. Finally, Kaiba reached behind the white-haired teen and delivered a harsh smack on the back, and a half-chewed piece of sandwich flew from Ryou's mouth, landing wetly on the plate. Ryou coughed a few more times before wiping his mouth off. "Thank you," he said hoarsely. Kaiba shrugged.

"I doubt the other Slytherins would approve of me allowing you to die."

Ryou rolled his eyes before turning around and looking back at Marik. "What do you mean 'make a move' on me?"

Marik blinked before shaking his head. "Er, she knows about… _the attack_, so she's probably going to do something about it. I, er, kinda nailed her with it in my class," the Egyptian said weakly, and withered more so under Ryou's glare.

"Oh boy," he grumbled pushing his plate away and watching it disappear from the table, "she's going to bring it up in class. _Marik_," Ryou whined, switching to Japanese, "how am I going to explain it?"

Yuugi looked at him. "You were attacked, but the authorities showed up before you were killed." Yuugi looked down at Ryou's right, scarred arm. "You have the wounds to prove it."

Ryou automatically slid his arm under the table, paling slightly. He turned his gaze to the bench between himself and Kaiba. Marik stared at the tabletop.

"I am sorry for putting you in this situation, Ryou. But, I needed _something_ to fight her with, and since the Daily Prophet reported it…"

Ryou nodded slowly, turning his eyes to the blank spot in front of him. "The Ministry approves of it. They can't just say they don't believe the tale- we were there, and they'd discredit the Prophet."

Kaiba sniggered before looking over at Ryou. "Which would mean all of their reports on Harry would come under fire."

Ryou nodded and smiled slightly, looking up at Marik. "I'll make it work. Don't worry."

Marik sighed, running a hand through his blond hair, turning to look at the Gryffindors, who were beginning to rise. Marik shivered, looking at Yuugi. "I have to go outside. Herbology, you see."

Yuugi smiled sadly at him. "Just cast a Warming Charm- we've been practicing them for a reason."

Marik nodded, pushing against the table as he rose to his feet. "I'll see you later, after Herbology. You'll meet me and Hermione in the library, right?"

Yuugi and Ryou nodded, while Kaiba rolled his eyes. "It's either that," the CEO grumbled, "or be stared at by these guys."

Indeed, the Slytherins had been giving the odd group the evil eye for some time, especially after Kaiba's comparison. Malfoy and Zabini could only do so much, it seemed, to make them welcome members of Slytherin society. Marik shook his head, hoisting his bag over his shoulder.

"I'll see you later then. Bye."

He raced off for the Great Hall, just as Malfoy came up beside Kaiba. "We're leaving for Defense Against the Dark Arts, so grab your stuff."

* * *

Ryou flipped through the heavily ear-marked _Defensive Magical Theory_, worryingly tapping his quill against the table. Kaiba, who was sitting next to him, finally reached over and grabbed is hand, glaring at him. Ryou blinked back at him, and Kaiba turned his eyes to the ceiling.

"Bakura," he said stiffly, making Ryou wince at the use of the name his yami had taken for himself, "if she comes in here and _sees_ you acting like a guilty party, she'll be more apt to attack."

Ryou nodded, exhaling. "Sorry, Kaiba. I didn't mean to disturb you." He closed his book and set his quill down, exhaling. Someone poked him in the back with the tip of a quill, and he turned around, smiling at Yuugi. The crazy-haired teen grinned back.

"Don't worry Ryou, we're all right behind you! All the way!"

Kaiba nodded beside him, eyeing the teen. Ryou smiled at them. "Thank you."

Zabini, who was sitting next to Yuugi, stared at them with a mixture of amusement and wonder. "I've never met any Slytherins who are so… _friendly_."

Yuugi smiled at him, violet eyes bright with mirth. "You just haven't met the right ones, I'm sure."

Zabini shrugged, leaning elegantly on his side of the desk. "I doubt that. Slytherins just aren't normally a friendly bunch. I mean, Malfoy and myself were the closest group here before you three showed up, and _we_ don't even use our first names. We grew up in formal places."

Yuugi's eyes flashed over to Ryou and back to Zabini. "Well, we're here for two more years, so we'll see what we can do to lighten you all up!"

Zabini smiled, shaking his head. "You're welcome to try, but I doubt you'll do much."

Yuugi merely grinned at him, opening his mouth to say more when suddenly the door opened, and Professor Umbridge came waddling into the room, smiling. Yuugi felt his own smile melt from his face, and he shivered. Yami phased into existence beside his desk, watching the woman as she began to prattle on about the course objectives.

/ She's very dark, Yuugi, / the spirit observed. His crimson eyes narrowed when she turned around and smiled sickeningly at the group of foreign wizards. / Look out, Yuugi. She's coming over here. /

Yuugi had noticed, and he had smiled at the woman in response. / We've got it, Yami. /

"Ah, Mister Mutou!" the pink toad shrilled, and Zabini flinched beside him. Yuugi chanced a glance at the half-veela before turning back to their Professor.

"Yes, Professor?"

"It has come to my attention," she began, walking forward, winding between tables to pause in front of them, talking softly as if to keep it just between them, but the entire class could hear her anyway, "that you are a _celebrity_," she rolled the word off her tongue mockingly, "in the Muggle world?"

Yuugi flushed slightly, and Yami bristled with anger, which the host could feel. / She _dares_ belittle our victories?! /

/ It's alright, Yami. I can deal with it. /

Yami grumbled, crossing his arms, and faded from sight. Yuugi's smile twitched slightly, but he kept it up. "I don't know if celebrity is the right word…"

"It is, Yuugi," Ryou chirped, and Kaiba nodded stiffly. A few Muggle-Born Ravenclaws nodded as wells, staring at Yuugi with awe. Yuugi blushed deeper, smiling sheepishly.

"O-okay…" he murmured. Umbridge shot Ryou and Kaiba a dark look before turning back to Yuugi.

"And what is it you do, exactly?"

Yuugi blinked a few times. "I play Duel Monsters, ma'am."

Umbridge's smile lifted, baring her teeth like some sort of predatory toad eyeing its next meal, and Yuugi could feel Yami stiffening in his room. "Let me get this straight," she sneered, "you play a children's card game for a living?"

She paused, as if waiting for laughter. When no noise came, she cleared her throat and continued. "How much do you make, Mister Mutou?"

Yuugi frowned at her. "Professor, I don't understand why you need to know…?"

"Merely trying to get to know my students, Mister Mutou. Make me ask again and I'll take points."

Zabini's dark eyes narrowed immediately, and Yuugi flushed and dropped his gaze. "Oh, uh…" he murmured before turning to look at Kaiba. "What's the conversion rate from yen to galleons?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Quiet Frodo, I'm calculating."

Yuugi's nose twitched, and Umbridge turned her bulging gaze upon the CEO, whose eyes had narrowed. After a moment, he lifted his head and looked at Yuugi.

"Over a million galleons."

Yuugi blinked before looking up at a shell-shocked Umbridge. "B-but that's not really the average amount of prize money. I've just gone to some of the most prestigious tournaments…"

Umbridge snarled at him and turned to glare at Ryou, who flinched under her gaze. "Mister Bakura," she said, her tone not nearly as sweet and innocent as before, "you lost your father to an attack over the summer, is that correct?"

Ryou blushed and paled in rapid succession. The room had gone completely silent, even the fidgeting of the students in their chairs had halted. Ryou nodded stiffly. "Yes," he finally uttered. "Yes, he was. Along with many others."

"Why didn't you go to his funeral?" she snapped. Ryou's brown eyes shot up to hers, confused. '_What did that have to do with anything?_'

It suddenly struck him, and he frowned deeply at her, eyes narrowing. "My father was cremated and his ashes spread over Egypt by a family friend. There was no formal ceremony to attend. Reggie Baggs, however, had a large, _public_ ceremony. There was an article in the Prophet. Did you see it?"

Umbridge had turned an ugly shade of puce before she nodded. "Of course I saw it. I was only wondering how your mental health was after such a devastating loss."

'_Liar._' "I'm fine, Professor. Thank you."

She smiled back at him, and her face lost the discoloration. Her beady eyes landed on Zabini, and the black teen stiffened in his chair, as if he could sense she was about to attack. She smiled at him.

"Ah!" she shrilled, her voice rising in pitch and tone. Yami snarled inside Yuugi, and the hikari blinked rapidly. / Yami, she's doing that on purpose! /

/ Yes she is, hikari. What a foul creature. /

"Mister Zabini," she said, her voice still high and carrying through the classroom, even over to where Malfoy sat in the corner, "how is your mother? Dating yet?"

Zabini nodded his head and looked back at her evenly. "Yes, as a matter of fact, _she is_. Why, are you interested? If so, Professor, I feel I must tell you she doesn't usually go for women."

Professor Umbridge's face flushed a dark red. Zabini looked evenly at her, eyes narrow and dangerous. Once she recovered, the Professor clenched her wand tightly in her grasp, twisting her hands around it as if she was imagining it was Zabini's neck.

"I'm afraid you've guessed wrong, Mister Zabini. Another such remark from you and I shall give you a week's worth a detention," she hissed, leaning down low. She then grabbed his book off the table, flipping through it. She paused on a certain section, placing the book softly in front of him once more. Zabini's eyes darkened further when he saw the page, and Umbridge turned to address the class.

"Now, class, I would like you all to turn to page fourteen hundred and seven, in chapter twenty." There was much page-turning as the students rushed to do just that. Zabini sat straighter in his chair eyes narrow as he watched the Professor, whose gaze had not lifted from his own. She smiled sweetly at him. "Mister Zabini, if you would please read the third paragraph? On _veela_?"

The Millennium Puzzle flashed as Yami could not contain his outrage, and the lights in the room flickered. Umbridge blinked up at the ceiling, pointing her wand at the still-flickering lights and mumbling a few incantations under her breath. Zabini smirked slightly. "Professor," he enquired lightly, "may I use my wand for light? I wasn't sure if I have that right…"

"What?" Umbridge snapped when she could not fix the problem. "Oh, yes. Please do."

Zabini lifted his wand, which lit without him saying a word. He held it over the page, and several other Ravenclaws had done so as well to read along.

"'Veela,'" Zabini began, proudly, "'are classified as beings by the Ministry of Magic, but several parties (which this author agrees with) feel that they should be reclassified as _beasts_, since there are known human-eating colonies, and they have the ability morph into dangerous monsters, and that's not mentioning their allure. It is for these reasons that the Minstry has recently passed Legislature that requires all Veelas and part-Veelas to announce their status in places where full humans live and work.'"

He looked up, his dark eyes glinting oddly in the bright light of his wand, incredibly bird-like and fierce. Umbridge smiled at him. "I would like you to make your announcement to the whole class now, since we have new students who were not here when it was announced previously."

Zabini nodded to her, smiling slightly. He rose in his chair, graceful and dangerous in the flickering lights, and stood to his full height. "I am Blaise Zabini, and I am an eighth veela."

He sat back down, looking around the room. Umbridge had a satisfied look on her face, and she turned around, using her own wand to navigate. The lights flickered once more before completely going out. By this time, all the students- including the Shadow Mages- had gotten their wands out and held them in front of themselves, lit. Yuugi looked completely embarrassed.

"Well, now that we have _that_ out of the way," Umbridge said softly, "please read chapters one through three and take notes."

Yuugi dug through his bag, frowning when he realized he'd forgotten ink. He looked over at Zabini who was glowering hatefully at the tabletop. He offered the teen a small smile, and turned in his chair to ask if the student behind him had any ink he could use. However, his violet gaze managed to first land on Malfoy, whose hand was clenched tightly around his lit wand. His eyes were silver with rage as he glared at Umbridge with a blazing intensity. Yuugi turned back around, forgetting all about the ink and lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marik was stumbling out of Hogwarts's main door, clutching his jacket tighter to himself and waving his wand awkwardly over his body. "_Calefacto_!" he said, and warmth spread throughout his body. Harry walked up beside him, his cloak partially open. He chuckled at Marik's displeased face.

"Marik, what are you going to do when there's _snow_?" the native asked. Marik glared at him.

"I'll wear warmer clothes," he grumbled, and Ron snickered at him. Marik shot him an annoyed look before the group of four walked towards the greenhouses.

While the other fifth years were busy messing around with dragon dung and plants that had a taste for eyebrows, Marik sat alone in the corner, taking a pretest for the upcoming exam that Saturday. It was the easiest thing that Marik had ever done, and he spent the last forty-five minutes of class watching Neville Longbottom expertly handling his Superciliumvorous.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Marik chirped, feeling several times better than when they'd wandered down, mostly because he didn't smell of dragon excrement. Harry glowered unhappily at the teen, rubbing hands on his shirt automatically.

Ron looked ahead, and smiled happily, waving his hand in the air. "Hey Ginny!"

Hermione, Harry, and Marik all looked up and spotted the youngest Weasley sibling walking towards them in a crowd of fourth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. She grinned at them, waving. "Hey guys! Did you just come from Herbology?" Ginny paused before them, smelling the air, and she smirked, clearing her throat. "Ah, yes."

Harry flushed brightly and scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, Luna Lovegood appeared at his right elbow, startling him. "O-oh, Luna."

"Hello Harry," she said, staring at him. She stepped closer so they were nose to nose, penetrating Harry's personal boundaries, and sniffed him. Harry's blush deepened, and Luna looked up at him, her grey eyes bright.

"Are you trying to attract a Umgubular Slashkilter?" Without waiting for Harry to respond, she sniffed again. "You're using the wrong brand, Harry. They prefer the scent of Hippogriff Dung."

Harry blinked slowly at her and she blinked slowly back. Finally she stepped back and smiled at him, and Harry exhaled softly. He noticed there were what looked like radishes hanging from her ears, and behind her left ear was her wand again. Luna then drew herself up, her silvery eyes focused solely on Harry's, and as serious as Harry assumed Luna Lovegood could be.

"Harry, my father and I believe that You-Know-Who is back, and you fought him, and escaped from him."

Harry blinked a few times before he offered her a small smile. "Uh, thanks…"

There were snickers from the surrounding group of people who had stopped to watch the interaction, but Harry chose to ignore them. Luna smiled at him, nodding. Her earrings danced and jiggled on her ears. "Believing is a choice everyone must make of their own free will. You don't have to thank me for it."

Amidst the giggles and snickers, Luna looked up at the cloudy sky, smiling slightly. "People are like the ocean, aren't they Harry?"

Harry blinked. "Uhh…"

"They come and go, depending on the tide."

Harry blinked a few times before Luna looked back at him, her protruding eyes glazed over slightly. "See you, Harry Potter."

She smiled at Marik, Ron, and Hermione before she glided away and towards the greenhouse, Ginny following along behind her. Hermione huffed, watching her walk away.

"Now no one will take you seriously Harry," Hermione grumbled, and Harry shot her a dark look, which Marik mimicked.

"She's nice," Harry growled, feeling a jolt of anger slide through him, "so would you leave her alone?" Marik nodded beside him. Hermione blinked a few times before looking off to the side. As the group of four were about to leave with the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, Ernie Macmillan walked over and stopped in front of him.

"Uh," Harry began, "hello Ernie."

"Potter," the blond Hufflepuff said, his brown eyes narrow, "I just wanted you to know…"

He paused looking around to see if everyone was watching. The Hufflepuffs had all stopped moving, and the Gryffindors were waiting to see what would happen. Ernie turned back to Harry, and smiled. "I want you to know that it isn't just _weirdos_ who support you." Before Harry had a chance to get insulted on Luna's behalf, Ernie continued, "My family as always stood behind Dumbledore, and I'm not stopping now. I believe you, Harry. One hundred percent."

Harry smiled back at Ernie, nodding slightly. "Thank you, Ernie. Thanks very much."

Ernie grinned back. "No problem Potter. We Hufflepuffs are loyal, and you've earned my loyalty."

There was silence from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Then, suddenly, the House of the Badger rushed forward, and Harry found himself surrounded.

"I believe you too, Harry." "If Ernie's with you, then so am I!" "I'll stand behind you, Harry!"

Harry flushed, looking over at Ernie, who was smiling back at him. The blond chuckled. "Hufflepuffs are _loyal_, Potter. We can't guarantee all of the years will be with you, but fifth year will be."

Harry stared at him as the Hufflepuffs stood back. "But… why?"

Ernie smiled at him, a sad glow to his honey eyes. "You brought Cedric back to us. Thank you."

Harry stilled, feeling his chest tighten. Ernie nodded to him once more before leading the Hufflepuffs away. Hermione's mouth had dropped open, and Ron was staring at the ground. Harry cleared his throat, looking away from the leaving Hufflepuffs and back to his fellow Gryffindors. Several had strange looks on their faces, some looked thoughtful and others annoyed. Harry immediately found Seamus amongst them. The Irish's eyes betrayed the confusion he felt, but his face was set in a stubborn scowl.

Harry's eyes darkened and he looked back at the ground. Sure, he'd won over a few Hufflepuffs, but if his own House wouldn't believe him…

Marik gripped Harry's shoulders and pushed him forward, through the lion pack. "C'mon Potter," the Egyptian whispered into his ear, "you won't win the war in one battle."

And Harry nodded and pulled himself from Marik's grip as Hermione and Ron settled beside him. Marik took up the rear, glaring over his shoulder at the Gryffindors who followed a few yards behind.

'_They'll all learn_,' Marik thought to himself as he turned back to the school. '_I just hope its before they lose something important. Like Potter's trust_.'

* * *

"I can't believe there's an _Encyclopedia of Quills_ in our library."

Ron and Harry stared at the massive tome in front of them. Hermione looked immensely proud of herself for having located it. The Shadow Mages stood around the book that nearly took up their entire table. Madam Prince stood nearby, tapping her chin slightly.

"I've never had any students request to see _this_ book before," the librarian said. She looked fondly at Hermione. "But if Miss Granger wants to see it, then I trust it will be in good hands."

Hermione smiled back at her, patting the book before them softly. "I promise."

The librarian waved her long, thin wand over the encyclopedia, and it split into twenty-six different books. "The books will split into separate volumes by letter." She grabbed _K_ and flipped it open to a random page. "Just place the tip of your wands on the word, and a picture of the quill with show." She touched her wand to Kex Quill, and the image of a brown, plant stalk with a sharpened edge hovered over the book where the wand lay. She lifted her wand, the image vanished, and she placed the book back onto the table and stepped back. "I will come back in forty minutes to put the encyclopedia back together."

She nodded and then strode away, and Hermione turned back to the assortment of books. "Alright," she said, grabbing _A_ and holding it out to Yuugi, who took it quickly, "we'll take a section each," she passed _B_ to Kaiba and _C_ to Ryou, "since all of you have seen the description," she thrust _D_ and _E_ to Harry and Ron respectively, "you'll only need to double-check with Marik," she passed the Egyptian _F_, "if you find one that looks similar." She hugged _G_ to her chest. "Any questions?"

Ron paged through the book in his hands. "What happens when we finish with a book?"

Hermione gestured to the table. "Stack it over here, and pick up another book. Preferably in alphabetical order."

Ron looked at the table, mumbling the alphabet under his breath. Hermione sighed, but smiled fondly at his back. "_H_, Ronald."

Ron jolted, spinning around. "Ah, oh…"

They spent the next forty minutes reading through the texts, and when Madam Prince came to return the encyclopedia to normal, only Hermione had managed to finish hers.

"I don't understand," Marik said as the group of seven left the library, "how there can be so many quills!"

Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Some of the quills have different shapes or colors, so the image cycles through them _all_."

Ron nursed several paper cuts on the fingers of his left hand. "And those pages are vicious! They look dull and old, but, wow!"

Hermione, however, had pulled out her schedule and was looking it over. Ryou quickly pulled his out and compared it to hers. They both frowned and Hermione sighed, looking up. "We'll have to work on different times on Wednesday…" She looked over at Ron, Harry, and Marik. "We'll come in after lunch."

Ryou glanced at Kaiba and Yuugi. "Are we okay for after Transfiguration?"

Kaiba stared at him, his eyes narrow. "Do I have an option?"

Yuugi looked over at him. "We could sit in our dorm room for the whole hour and avoid the sixth years if you want to."

Kaiba groaned, and nodded at Ryou. The albino smiled before he looked over at Harry, raising an eyebrow. Harry shook his head, running a hand through his messy hair. Ryou felt butterflies in his stomach, and had to look away. Marik, catching the movement, leered at Ryou before adjusting the straps on his bag.

"Alright, let's get going," the Egyptian snickered. He looked at Ron. "We have Transfiguration, right? We'd better be on time to our Head of House's class…"

Hermione gave a little gasp of horror and grabbed Harry's shoulder. "Oh no! Come on! We'll be late!"

As the four ran off down the hall towards Transfiguration, Kaiba led the trio down the stairs, towards their Herbology lesson.

* * *

The group of four Shadow Mages weren't given a good chance to see each other during the rest of the day, nor at breakfast on Wednesday. Their next chance to talk was during the first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. The Gryffindors, as they were wont, had arrived first and were inspecting a trestle table with many twigs and sticks lying on top of it. Professor Grubby-Plank was acting like a bouncer- she'd quickly shoo any who dared approach the table.

It was a few minutes later that the Slytherins came walking from the Castle, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle leading the group with Zabini and Parkinson just behind. Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba were only a few paces further back. When the substitute teacher caught sight of the four new additions to the class, she shot forward and pulled them from the main group.

"Ah, just the kids I wanted to see!" she said cheerfully as she led them aside. "Now, unlike your other classes, this class it really doesn't make much sense to take a bunch of tests and be caught up. No, instead, you'll just start with the class and have to learn about the other creatures from books." She dug through her pockets for a moment before handing the four each a piece of paper. "There are the creatures they studied for the past two years. Just read up on them real well, and you'll be fine!"

She spun back around, clapping her hands together. "Alright now, everyone split into groups of three! That's it, now…"

Marik and Yuugi immediately latched onto one another, and Ryou and Kaiba stood together. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all came together, while Parkinson sidled up to Yuugi and Marik and Zabini went with Kaiba and Ryou. Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly became a group. Professor Grubby-Plank looked immensely proud of Marik, Yuugi, and Parkinson's group, the only one to have surpassed House lines.

"Today, we'll be learning about these," she said, indicating the sticks that lay strewn across the table. "Can anyone tell me what they are?"

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot straight up. However, Malfoy's hand also rose, and Professor Grubby-Plank pointed him out. "Mister Malfoy?"

Hermione shot him a dark look and Malfoy sneered at her before he turned back to the table. "They're tree guardian's professor. Bowtruckles. I have an uncle, who lives in France, who plants wand trees for Ollivander. He had quite a few of them who live in the trees. In fact, he ships them in after winter is gone."

Professor Grubby-Plank smiled at him. "Very good, Mister Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin. Can you tell me _why_ he ships them in?"

Malfoy nodded, and Hermione looked incredibly put out. "They eat wood lice and fairy eggs. It keeps the trees healthy."

"Good lad, Mister Malfoy. Another five points to Slytherin. Now, bowtruckles have this tendency to gouge out the eyes of whatever non-prey creature approaches it's tree, so you should always distract it with wood lice so that doesn't happen. There are enough bow truckles here for one per group, and I want you to sketch them. _Each of you_. Don't hand me a group picture at the end of class!"

It was by unanimous decision that Marik would be the one to go and get the bowtruckle. He stood back from the table, waiting for it to clear of students. Kaiba came up beside him, staring down at the mass.

"I'm so glad I came to Hogwarts to _draw pictures_," the CEO grumbled. Marik shrugged, looking over at him.

"Maybe when Hagrid gets back, we'll see something interesting."

Malfoy wandered up beside them, clutching a rather large bowtruckle. "More like something dangerous," the Slytherin Prince grumbled. He eyed the two of them. "I like the subject, I took this class for a reason, and it wasn't to torment Potter. That's just a perk," he said with a smirk, and continued. "The great oaf loves animals, but he's extremely deficient in the teaching department."

Marik raised an eyebrow at him. "Why _did_ you take this class?"

Malfoy blushed and took a step sideways. "Uh, the table's cleared. Better get one."

He retreated quickly, leaving two smirking Shadow Mages in his wake. They quickly snatched up a bowtruckle each, and returned to their groups. Marik held the bow truckle gentling in hands, watching as Parkinson chatted Yuugi up.

"- Father says we're the sixth richest family line in Britain. Isn't that _amazing_?" she said, blinking at him slowly. "This means, of course, I won't just marry_ anyone_, I'll have to choose someone _worthy_ of me."

Yuugi, the naïve teenage, looked fascinated by her. "Really? Shouldn't you marry for love instead of… '_worthiness_'?"

"Love? _Pfft_. Mother and Father didn't marry for love, and they're extremely wealthy." Parkinson's dark eyes narrowed. "Why should I?"

Yuugi blinked at her, baffled. "What happens when the money's all gone? Then there's nothing to your marriage but a piece of paper."

Parkinson looked at him like he was mad. "Why would the money disappear?"

Yuugi stared at her, sadness rolling through is violet eyes. "I just… wonder."

"It's a pretty stupid idea. My money isn't going_ anywhere_."

Marik chose that moment to jump forward. "Got one! Let's get drawing!"

Yuugi was still frowning, but nodded anyway. Parkinson just looked disgusted with herself as she eyed Marik's red and gold tie. "Why did I chose this group, anyway?"

Yuugi blinked at her. "Because we were the only group of two?"

"That's right."

Marik sighed, feeling worn out already.

* * *

Ryou tapped his wand to the last entry in volume _C_, watching as a bright blue quill appeared in front of him. Sighing, he closed the book and stood up. Kaiba had already finished volume _B_ and was working his way through _H _quickly. Ryou placed the book on top of _B_ and picked up volume _I_. Yuuugi looked blearily up from his, blinking.

"Anyone finding anything?"

Kaiba looked over at him. "The only thing that looked like what Marik described was a _blood quill_, but that was only a candy."

Ryou stared at him. "They have candy in here, too?!"

"Anything that looks like a quill."

"Ugh…"

"Yes!" Yuugi whispered, closing his book and jumping to his feet. Ryou looked over at him, crossing his fingers under the table.

"You find it?"

Yuugi blinked at him. "Oh, no. _We're_ switching."

Ryou groaned, turning back to his book while Yuugi and Yami switched places with a flash. The Pharaoh looked down at the book in his hand before walking over to the table and switching it for _J_.

"This is the most tedious work I've done in a long time," the spirit grumbled, but opened the book nonetheless and was already tapping words as he walked back to his seat. The library fell silent once more.

* * *

The rest of the day bore no information for the searching groups. They met once again on Thursday, an hour after their lunch period. Ten minutes into the search, Marik leapt up from his table, biting his lip to keep from screeching in glee. He waved over to the others. "Guys, I've got it!"

Once everyone had gathered around the table, Marik laid volume _S_ down and pressed his wand onto the word _Sanguis Quill_. The image of a long, black quill with a large red feather hovered over the page. They could see, even on the image, that the tip of the quill was sharp, sharper than an ordinary quill. Hermione reached over and hugged Marik.

"This is _perfect_!" she squealed before running off to the bookshelves. "C'mon!" she cried when she saw none of the others were following. "We've still got to find out what it does!" She glanced off to the side. "Although I'm quite sure I already know…"

They followed her, and Hermione gestured to a long line of books under the 'Magical Contracts' section. She looked at them. "Look under these. I'm sure I've read about that quill before, when I was looking up wizarding laws for Harry's trial. But I don't want to make a mistake with this."

She pulled a book out and moved back towards the tables. Ron sighed, pulling another book from the shelf. Yuugi, Ryou, Kaiba, and Marik quickly did so as well, leaving Harry alone with the books. Ryou followed the group back to the table, and glanced down at his book. He stopped in his tracks, and frowned.

"Oops, sorry guys," he said, showing them the book. "Someone put this book on Magical Transportation in the wrong section. I'll go grab another book."

He darted back the way he came, but paused when he heard Harry's voice nervously stumbling through a sentence.

"We were just, uh, looking up some Wizarding Laws. After the fiasco this summer- you, uh, know about that right? Since your mom works in the Ministry and all- we wanted to double-check on some of the laws…"

Ryou peaked around the bookshelf, and watched as another girl- a Ravenclaw, judging from her blue and bronze tie- smiled and nodded. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled slightly at Harry.

"Yeah," she began, "she, um, works in the Port Key Department, pretty close to Mariette Edgecombe's mother. She's my friend, I think you've met her…"

Harry blinked, flushing slightly. "O-oh, yeah. The curly-haired girl?"

Cho Chang- Ryou suddenly remembered- nodded, smiling a bit wider. "Yes, her."

They stood awkwardly for several moments, shifting from foot to foot, and Cho cleared her throat and gestured to the books, ducking her head slightly. "Uh, well, you'd better get back to your research. I, uh, have a Transfiguration Essay to write…"

"Oh, what?" Harry said. "Yeah, I'd better…"

"Yes…"

They stared at one another for a few more seconds. Harry flushed and grabbed a book from the shelf nearby. "So, uh, see you around?"

Cho smiled, blushing a little herself. "Yeah. Good luck with the law-study."

"Th-thanks Cho."

"Bye Harry," she said, giving him a little wave before turning around and fleeing. Harry stood still, a small, silly smile darting across his face.

"Yeah, bye…"

He stumbled around the other side of the bookcase, and Ryou finally stepped forward, frowning slightly. Sure, he'd _figured_ that Harry was straight, but finally _knowing_ it, seeing it…

He sighed, shoulders drooping a little. Well, nothing could be done about it. He placed the book on transportation on the correct shelf nearby and took a law book, walking back to his table.

They sat in silence for several moments before Hermione gasped and leaned over the book further. She tapped the book with her quill, smirking. "I've got it!"

Once the others had gathered around her table, Hermione cleared her throat and read aloud from the section.

"'The _Sanguis Quill_ is often used to sign important wizarding contracts involving people, usually those between families ending a blood feud, when a wizarding family is adopting a child, inheritance and wills, or other such documents. Since these quills are used to form _legal, binding contracts_, their use is forbidden outside any activity that isn't overseen by a Legiwizard.'"

She snapped the book shut, bookmark in place, and grinned broadly. "_We've got her_."

She rose, holding the book to her chest. She looked behind her and at the mess of books that they strewn over three different tables. "You should go clean those up while I go check this out."

She slipped away without giving the boys a chance to stop her. Harry sighed before turning to the table. He glanced over at Marik, smirking slightly. "Marik, what are you doing this Friday?"

Marik picked up two books from the table and looked at Harry. "Nothing much- probably studying for our exam on Saturday. Why?"

Harry grinned. "Well, at five o'clock we're having Quidditch tryouts. Maybe you'd like to come watch? The whole school is, in fact, so the Slytherins will probably be there."

Ron had gone immensely quiet, but Harry didn't notice, and the others thought nothing of it.

"Sounds like fun," Marik admitted. Ryou smiled slightly, looking over at Yuugi and Kaiba.

"Malfoy had mentioned something about that. We could go for a while. Friday is our easy-day, anyway."

Harry's face soured at the mentioned of Malfoy, but Yuugi ignored it. "I'd like to go check it out."

Kaiba made noncommittal noise, but his eyes were dark with thought. Ryou nudged his arm lightly, earning a raised eyebrow. "C'mon, Kaiba," Ryou egged, "Mokuba will definitely be there."

Kaiba sighed, turning his eyes skyward. "Fine."

Hermione reappeared at that moment, frowning at them. The book was safely clutched in her arms. "Did you do _anything_ while I was gone?"

Chastised, the group of males quickly rushed to put the books away. Hermione shook her head, smiling slightly. When they returned, it was with sheepish smiles. Yuugi glanced up at the clock and gasped.

"We're going to be late for Defense!" he cried, and Ryou and Kaiba spun around to see the clock. As the three of them gathered their bags and books, Ryou looked over at them, flushed. "So, uh, we'll hear from you later, alright?"

Hermione nodded while Marik, Ron, and Harry laughed at them. The trio of Slytherins fled the library. The bookworm then turned to the remaining three, hugging the tome to her chest. Nodding, she held the book out to Marik, who took it with a confused look on his face.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"Simple," Hermione asserted. "I didn't see the quill, so when we go to Professor McGonagall about it, _you'll_ have to be the one to tell her."

Marik frowned, but nodded. "When are we going?" he asked. Hermione grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the exit.

"Right now."

* * *

Marik and Hermione stood in front of the large, wooden door to Professor McGonagall's office, staring at it as if waiting for it to allow them to enter. Hermione was smiling in amusement. "Frightened of a door, Marik?"

Marik looked over at Hermione, glowering. "The last time I went to the office, the teacher tried to slice my hand open with a quill."

Hermione sighed, leaning forward and knocking on the door. "Then _I'll_ do it, you fraidy-cat."

Marik grumbled, pulling the book closer to his chest. The door opened swiftly, exposing Professor McGonagall who looked startled to see them. "Mister Ishtar and Miss Granger? What on earth are you doing here?"

Marik cleared his throat and leaned forward conspiratorially. "We have information for you," he whispered, eyes darting around. Hermione rolled her eyes, and grabbed the Egyptian's shoulders.

"May we come in, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall stood aside, and the duo stepped inside. She led them to her desk, where she summoned a third chair, and sat down in the one across from them. Once they had sat down, she fixed her gaze on them. "What can I do for you?"

Marik placed the book on the table, flipping it open to the correct page and pushing it over to the professor. "Are these- the Sanguis Quill- allowed to be used on students as a punishment, Professor?"

McGonagall adjusted her glasses before looking over at Marik. "No, Mister Ishtar. They are not. Why?"

Marik sighed. "Because I think Professor Umbridge tried to get me to use one on Monday for my detention."

The Transfiguration Professor stilled. She looked at him over the tops of her square frames. "Are you certain, Mister Ishtar?"

"Pretty sure, Professor," Marik said. "The quill felt… _wrong_. Dark. I used my… _special abilities_ to block it from working. She got mad, and tried it out for herself, and she yelped in pain and there was blood on her hand."

McGonagall nodded, standing up immediately. "Thank you, Mister Ishtar. I wish you'd come to me sooner, however."

Hermione flushed. "We weren't sure, Professor. We've spent an hour every day since then trying to find out more."

McGonagall nodded, turning around and placing a tin of cookies on her desk. "Take a biscuit, you two. I shall speak with Albus about this, and, with any luck, something should be done within the hour."

Marik nodded, moving to take the book, but McGonagall stopped him. "Let me keep this, and I'll tell Madam Prince."

"Alright Professor," Marik said, and the two Gryffindors rose to their feet. McGonagall followed them out of her office, which she locked behind her. She nodded to them both.

"Mister Ishtar, we shouldn't need you, but if we do, where will you be?"

Hermione smiled at him, and Marik turned back to his Professor. "In the library, studying for the Year-One exam."

McGonagall smiled at him. "Good lad."

With that, she turned around, trotting quickly through the hallway. Hermione nodded at Marik, tugging on his sleeve. "We've done all we can. C'mon, I'll quiz you."

With one last glance at McGonagall's retreating form, Marik walked after Hermione, and back toward the library, where they had left Ron and Harry to their own devices.

"… I bet they got kicked out."

"Marik!"

* * *

Ryou, Kaiba, and Yuugi had managed to avoid being late, but only by a few scant seconds. They were currently bent over their books, Ryou sitting once more next to Kaiba, while Yuugi was sitting with Nott. Malfoy had taken the seat by Zabini this time around. The class was reading through chapters four through six when suddenly the door to their classroom was nearly slammed open, and McGonagall came marching in like an avenging angel. Umbridge looked up, and appeared honestly surprised to see her.

"Why, Professor McGonagall, whatever are you doing in my classroom?" the Defense Professor asked. McGonagall set her with a look that would set fire to ice.

"Sanguis quills, Deloris?! Sanguis quills?!"

The woman's smile instantly faded and her eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! I've received a complaint about you using _illegal devices_ on students!"

Umbridge's face grew red. "What proof do you have?"

McGonagall glared at her. "We searched your office- _as is my right_- and found, in your possession, _four_ of the quills! What were you thinking?!"

Deloris rose in her chair, eyes narrow. "There's nothing wrong with _owning_ those quills-"

"That we have no problem with," McGonagall snarled, "what Dumbledore and I take issue with is that you attempted to_ use them on a student_!"

Umbridge's eyes flashed over to where Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba sat in close proximity, and she glared at them. She turned her gaze over to the Deputy. "However, they were not used on a student. Thus, I broke no laws," she sniped. McGonagall began to sputter, and Umbridge lifted her chin, somehow looking far larger than the tall Transfiguration Professor. "What concerns me is that you would question me. For, when you question me, you question the Minister _himself_. And this shall not do."

The Professor glanced over her class, staring at them. "You are dismissed. Be sure to have your reading done by next Tuesday, as well as a parchment explaining when to use a Defensive Strategy."

The class was still for a moment, shocked out of movement as McGonagall had been. Umbridge smiled at them all and flounced out of the room, every set of eyes tracking her. Yami appeared beside Yuugi, his crimson eyes narrow.

"I don't like this," he said stiffly. "I believe we may have inadvertently brought more harm to this school than good."

Ryou could only nod.

* * *

**AFTER NOTES**: So, what do you think? XD I'm really pleased with how this chapter ended up. Sorry- no Quidditch tryouts yet. It just didn't fit with what the chapter had going on before. That, and it was getting too long. See you next time!

**CHAPTER TITLE**: TORQUEO - _torture_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ Quidditch tryouts! How does Malfoy weasel Ryou, Kaiba, and Yuugi into trying out? And Umbridge strikes back, now more powerful than ever before. And she has Harry set in her sights…_


	15. Ludifico

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Hey everyone! Sorry this is so late. College finals leapt out at me. A speech, three essays, and three big tests all in a short period of time, so I've been studying. Thankfully, the craziness is over, so I should be able to get back on track.

_Also_: In order to get my mind clear, I'm working on a side-project. Another YGO crossover, but far smaller in scale and rather short in comparison, and _not_ involving Harry Potter, but NCIS. 'The Difference Between Shadows and Darkness' is my priority, but this side-project is mostly there to make sure my mind still can wander. :D

_Also_: Heh,_ this_ is how you can tell these Author's Notes aren't written all at once. I've _another_ plot-bunny for the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, this time not a crossover, but a post-series thing. If you want more information on these two stories, head to my profile and look under 'Ideas for Fanfics'. I've got a summary, and those two stories have the main pairings listed, so, check them out if you want to. Like before, however, _this_ is my priority in story-writing.

--

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

--

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:  
****LUDIFICO**

--

_**Last Time**_**:** _The quill, an illegal device, has been taken from the building. However, there is a fear that what Umbridge brings in its place will be far more devious than any mere quill…_

--

The news that Umbridge had been planning to use a regulated quill as punishment for her students spread swiftly through the castle, and by Friday afternoon, the entire school knew. There was another fast spreading fact: the only student who had been in detention with the Defense professor was Marik Ishtar.

"Did you actually _use_ it?"

"What did it look like?"

"Is it true it turns your fingers into the quill, and you have to write with your bones?!"

Marik was flushed slightly, having been caught by the Gryffindors just as he returned to the common room from dinner. He was careful to keep his hands well away from the group of lions, since students who wanted to see if he had used the quill had assaulted him several times that day. He looked over the small crowd, mostly younger students who did not have connections in other Houses yet. He could see beyond the small cluster that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Mokuba were watching with large grins on their faces. He frowned at them before returning his attention back to the group in front of him.

"No," Marik began, and the group quieted down, "I _didn_'_t_ use the quill, I only saw it. She was going to have me use it, but it must have been defective since it didn't work on me," Marik quickly said. He held out his hands to show how long the quill was. "It was black, long, thin… red feather. It's called the '_Sanguis Quill_' if you're all so curious. And _no_," he said with a scowl, "it didn't turn my finger into a quill. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

He pushed himself away from the common room wall and wound his way through the crowd and over to where Mokuba and the others had been joined by the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Mokuba, seeing Marik's displeasure, grinned as the blond approached.

"Getting a little attention?" the Vice President of KaibaCorp asked innocently. Marik glowered at him.

"Ha-ha," he grumbled, while Harry shook his head at the two of them. However, his eyes zeroed in on someone cutting their way through the group of Gryffindors, and he stiffened automatically. Marik turned his eyes upon the approaching person and found it to be the Quidditch Captain, Angelina Johnson. She walked quickly, looking over the crowd of Gryffindors. Once she had joined the rest of her team, she cleared her throat, earning everyone's attention.

"We're heading out now," she said swiftly. "If you're trying out for a spot, I want you to come down onto the field. Everyone else, up into the stands!"

There was a murmur of agreement before the whole House began to slide out of the common room. Marik stuck quite close to Harry, who was wandering next to Fred and George. Ron, Hermione, and Mokuba had vanished from sight, hidden amongst the rest of their House. He shrugged, and continued to walk beside the Quidditch team, too busy lost in his thoughts.

Most of the school was not sure how to react to the fact that someone from the Ministry had attempted to use a regulated item on a student. It seemed to shake their once-unbreakable faith in the establishment. While it made the students a bit less naïve, it made Marik and the rest of the Shadow Mages incredibly nervous. Umbridge had left the building as soon as she had released her last class. However, she had not packed any of her belongings, and home remained the same as it always was, apparently.

'_Something bad is coming_,' Marik thought, blinking rapidly as the Gryffindors finally made their way outside and towards the Quidditch Pitch. '_I can feel it_.'

As the lions came upon the Quidditch grounds, Marik instantly found his eyes glued onto a spike of red and black hair shooting up from a crowd of Slytherins already on the field. Ryou's shock of white hair came next, and Marik spotted Kaiba moments later, merely by the CEO towering over those around him. He grinned, waving at the trio. Ryou waved quickly back, smiling, while Yuugi had to stand on his toes to spot the Egyptian through the crowd.

"Yuugi!" Marik called, waving his hand. Yuugi waved both his arms before leading Ryou and Kaiba through the staring Slytherins and towards the Gryffindors. Marik paused, the rest of the Gryffindors walking around him as the other trio stopped in front of him. Marik raised an eyebrow, taking in the odd green and silver robes and shin and arm guards that Yuugi and Ryou were wearing. He blinked a few times.

"Uh… what are you doing?"

Kaiba looked at Marik. "They're being blackmailed," the CEO said blandly. Yuugi frowned at him before sighing and nodding his head.

"That… is actually pretty accurate."

Marik, getting nowhere, looked at Ryou, confusion on his face. Ryou gestured to where Malfoy stood amongst the other Quidditch players. "He's got our Transfiguration essays. We've got to try out, or…"

Ryou mimed a tearing motion with his hands. Kaiba was smirking at them. "I can't believe you let him near your essays. He's been talking about us trying out for days."

Marik, however, was far too amused to feel their pain. "How'd he get them?"

"We gave them to him," Yuugi said sheepishly. Yami appeared behind him, turning his smoldering crimson gaze onto the Slytherin Prince a few paces behind him.

"He said he was going to proofread them…" the spirit grumbled. He then turned around, planting his hands on Yuugi's shoulders. "May I try this?"

Yuugi sighed, a small smile of relief flitting across his face. "Okay," he said. "Just don't send anyone to the Shadow Realm."

Yami's crimson eyes glowed bright, and with a flash from the Millennium Puzzle, the two had switched places. Marik stared at the Pharaoh before he drew himself up, jutting his chin out. "If you are going to try, then I will as well!"

Yuugi came into focus beside his yami. "Really? That's great!"

"Indeed!" the Egyptian declared. Kaiba stared at the blond with a disgusted look.

"You want to waste your time playing this game?"

Marik shook his head, chuckling. "Do you honestly believe I'll make it? The closest thing to a broom that I've ridden is my motorcycle." He looked over at Yami. "I want to do better than the Pharaoh, however."

Yami stood up straighter, his regal finesse suddenly appearing. His violet-and-crimson gaze flashed. "I accept your challenge."

Yuugi eyed his Yami nervously. "Yami… don't turn this into a Shadow Game…"

Yami smiled at him, chuckling. "I won't," the spirit said. "It'll be a friendly competition."

Marik chuckled, looking around the field. "So, what's the game?"

"Chaser," Yami said. "Whomever gets on their House's team wins."

Marik's eyebrow arched. "Backups or frontline?"

"Either," Yami declared. "You must merely make the team."

Kaiba sneered at them. "What happens when neither of you losers gets on the team?"

Marik stared at Kaiba dully, while Yami raised an eyebrow. "Then we'll ask you two who performed better. Since Kaiba hates us equally and Ryou is fair, it works."

The fair one chuckled. "So," Ryou began, "what if you both make the team? Are you going to have us judge you, too?"

"No," Marik said at once, grinning at Yami, "no, we'll face it in a Quidditch match were we're both on the field. Whoever scores the most points, wins."

Yami held out his hand, and Marik grasped it firmly. They nodded to each other before taking a step back, smirking. Marik looked at the area around him, seeing how deserted it was. Yuugi looked between the two, feeling a bit nervous.

"Uh, guys…?"

"I hope your time as a ghost taught you to _fly_!"

Marik's sudden declaration was met with Yuugi and Ryou gaping at the Egyptian in horror while Kaiba seemed mildly amused. Yami's own violet-on-crimson eyes widened and then narrowed, his smirk becoming far more wicked.

"As one who spent most of his life _underground_, it would seem that _you_ have the disadvantage, Marik."

Marik's mouth dropped open, the sides twisting into a semblance of a smile. Kaiba snickered at that, and Ryou's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline. Yuugi gaped openly at his other half. "_Yami_!"

The spirit smirked at Marik, offering him a small bow, and walked past him. "See you on the field."

--

The Quidditch Tryouts were one of the only times throughout the Hogwarts year that all four teams could be on the field and a brawl would not break out. It was an age-old tradition started by the founders, since Quidditch would not even start before players were ending up in the Hospital Wing. Since then, an unquestioned truce existed between the teams (especially Slytherin and Gryffindor) that had not been broken.

Yami and Marik, however, seemed keen on destroying it.

"Don't break your neck, Marik! I'd hate to have to explain this to Isis!"

"You worry about your neck, shrimp! Your friends would kill me if something happened to you!"

The two were sniping at each other from their respective spaces on the field, where they were practicing their broom riding. The Slytherins were looking more and more irritated at Marik's shouting, while the Gryffindors were grumbling loudly about Yami's own remarks. The two competing teens did not seem to be bothered, though.

"I hope your broom gets off the ground, Yuugi! You've been pigging out since we got here!"

"I shall enjoy seeing you fail, Tomb Keeper!"

Finally, after the rest of the Gryffindors had tried out for the Chaser spot, Angelina motioned towards Marik. "Marik, stop screaming at the snakes- they don't have ears. You're up!"

Marik gave a startled laugh before he turned on Yami, grabbing the school broom with a tangled and twisted end in his hand and marching towards the pitch. Yami, despite his attitude earlier, nodded to him as he walked by.

"Satet bless your aim," the Pharaoh said solemnly. Marik paused and returned the nod.

"May she give you the same."

Then, without further waiting, the blond swung his leg over the broom. He bent his knees and pushed off, immediately flying into the air with his red cape fluttering behind him. He swung around, grinning down at the people below him, careful not to lose his balance.

"Not that different from a motorcycle," the Egyptian mumbled, before flying into the center of the field and hovering there. It was only a second later that Angelina Johnson road into the air, flanked by Fred and George, who were wielding large, thick bats and grinning in such a way to make Marik nervous. The black girl swooped in close, holding out the large, red Quaffle for Marik to take.

"Alright, Ishtar," the girl said, her eyes dark, "you need to throw this ball through those hoops without getting killed by these two. And trust me; they will try to kill you."

"No we wouldn't!" George cried, blinking in mock-horror. Fred slipped beside him, looking innocent.

"We may aim to maim, but we've never killed anyone. … On purpose."

Marik was not relieved. Angelina, however, ignored them and gave Marik a hard shove to the shoulder, which made Marik's broom wobble.

"Hey!" the Egyptian snapped, violet eyes promising murder. Angelina rolled her eyes and flew a few feet away.

"I'm going to throw this to you. Catch it, and go."

Marik nodded, and Angelina turned towards the ground, where Harry was poised beside a large, rattling box. She whistled, and the raven-haired teen unleashed two Bludgers into the air. Then the black-haired girl chucked the Quaffle at Marik's head.

"Ack!" the teen yelped before catching the ball with both hands and instinctively dropping the broom into a dive. He heard the whistling noise of a ball rushing past his head a moment later.

'_So much for _not_ killing me_,' the teen thought, tucking the Quaffle under his arm and swooping upwards sharply. He blinked a few times, and a flash of light entered is vision:

_Fred winding back to smack the Bludger to where Marik would be in a few moments_.

Marik blinked before shooting to the left, just as a Bludger zoomed through the air in front of him. It was obviously the Millennium Necklace, giving him a shot of what the players were doing before it happened. He wondered if it was technically cheating, since nowhere in the rules did it say anything about using ancient Egyptian artifacts…

Marik took a sharp turn to avoid another Bludger, and shot across the field, towards the goal posts. He could hear Fred and George shouting something, but he was more concerned with-

_George passing a Bludger to Fred, who swung once more to strike Marik_.

-the Bludger sailing towards him. He pulled the broom up, perpendicular to the ground and shot off like a rocket towards the sky. He leveled out again and zigzagged towards the goal posts, like a drunken bee towards the hive.

_George and Fred double-teaming, George aiming in front of Marik while his twin awaited Marik to make a move._

Marik froze in mid-air, ducking, and the first Bludger flew over his head. He slipped to the right, and heard the second Bludger get struck. He then shot downwards once more, avoiding a hit. He shot straight ahead, a few feet from the goal posts, and turned sharply so he'd fly parallel to them. He tossed the Quaffle through a hoop as he past, cackling like a maniac.

He flew to the center of the field, the predatory grin still plastered to his face. George was admiring him from afar while Fred was pouting at his bat.

"You know," the red-head grumbled playfully, "we've always managed to hit the Chasers once. You're the first one that's been able to avoid us. How'd you do it?"

Marik smirked on the outside, but on the inside he was panicking. '_I was _supposed_ to get hit once_?! _Oh, crap_!' "I have an amazing sixth sense."

Fred laughed at him, but his eyes were on the golden necklace around Marik's neck. Marik pretended not to notice, and instead looked over at Angelina, whose own eyes were bright with glee.

"_Amazing_!" she declared. "I mean, that was a bloody good first run. We'll do two more, but if they're even _half _as good as this one, well you'd still end up on the team."

Marik stared at her. "R-really?"

Angelina nodded. "Yes," she said. "On the reserves for awhile, though, since we have four Chasers this year."

Marik grinned widely, "That's fine for me. I still made the team."

After two more runs, a passing exercise and an throw-accuracy judgment, Marik found himself in front of Yami, feet planted firmly on the ground. He was grinning widely at the Pharaoh, who looked both pleased and annoyed, an odd combination. Marik leaned forward, eyes flashing.

"I hope you're ready, _Pharaoh_. I'd hate to see you give up just because you have to follow that _amazing_ display I did."

Yami's eyebrow quirked, and he smirked at the blond. He leaned against the black and silver Nimbus 2001, face-to-face with the Egyptian. "Why, Marik," the spirit practically purred as he mounted the broom, "are you nervous I'll out play you? I _am_ the King of Games, after all."

Yami then kicked off, laughing, leaving a scowling Marik behind. The spirit was quickly joined by Marcus Flint, the team captain, and the two new Beaters, Goyle and Crabbe. Yami stared at them as they flew over on a pair of Nimbus 2001's.

/ How do their brooms not break? Magic can only do so much… /

/ Yami! / Yuugi admonished, / They're in our House, so be nice! /

Yami had to hide his small grin. / Allow me to have my thoughts, aibou. Otherwise, they might find your lips… /

/ Say anything bad about them and I'll hide our deck. /

Yami frowned immediately, violet-on-crimson eyes narrowing slightly. / That's a low blow, Yuugi. /

He could feel the hikari grinning through their mind link. / I'll take whatever shot I have to. Sorted into Slytherin, remember? /

Yami eyed his housemates as they settled around him. / How could I forget? /

"Mouto," Flint began, and Yuugi quieted in the back of his soul room, "you saw all those exercises the Lions did, right?"

"Yes…" Yami said, his eyebrow rising again. Marcus chuckled.

"Well, that's what we're doing. That's what _everyone_ does. So, Malfoy will release the Bludgers and Crabbe and Goyle will try to pound your face in with the ball, _not the clubs_."

The captain said the last part sternly, looking over at the two trolls sitting on brooms. They looked mournfully down at the clubs before they nodded. Flint snorted, turning back to Yami. "Just keep an eye out. They'll forget the moment you get close enough to the hoops. _If_ you get close enough to the hoops."

Yami nodded, and Marcus waved his hand through the air. The blond seeker below them waved back, and released the two Bludgers into the air. Yami swiveled his head back around to Flint, who gave him a small, mocking salute, and chucked the Quaffle so it went over Yami's head and towards the ground. Thankful for the speed and maneuverability of the Nimbus 2001, Yami immediately dove downward and after it.

/ Why'd he do that?! / Yuugi snapped to Yami. The spirit snatched the Quaffle from its freefall and rose into the air.

/ Because we are Muggleborn? Because we are new to the school? Are we being… _hazed_? / Yami inquired as he zipped forward, keeping an eye on the two Beaters that had spread off to his sides. Yami heard Yuugi sigh in the back of his mind.

/ You were watching some of Jou's movies before we left, weren't you? /

/ … Maybe. /

Yami heard the crack of the club and a whistling sound, and he immediately crouched down onto the broom, sending it downward. Yuugi yelped in horror at the sudden change in direction, and Yami chuckled, straightening himself out and scanning the area around him. Goyle had placed himself in front of the goals, like an armed Keeper, while Crabbe was a ways behind Yami, pulling back to send a Bludger flying his way.

And Yami smirked.

He immediately rose in altitude, flying at the area the Goyle's head occupied. He bent down, getting as flat as he could to the broom. He heard Crabbe grunt, and then the sound of a Bludger sent sailing reached his ears, and Yami dove again, watching the Bludger fly over him.

And right at Goyle.

The oaf yelped and squished down, bringing his hands over his head, immediately forgetting his club. The spirit watched the path of the Bludger and, after a moment, Yami reeled back, and threw the Quaffle. it streaked through the air before colliding with the Bludger above Goyle. It then smacked into the back of the Beater's head, causing his face to smack into the broom handle, and ricocheted through the goal behind him.

Yami chuckled turning around and watching as Flint flew closer, nodding a little bit. "Smart one, aren't you?" he asked.

"I prefer 'clever,'" the spirit responded. Flint chuckled, nodding.

"Don't we all?" he said, and gestured for Yami to follow. "You've still got two more runs, but I like what I see."

And Yami knew he'd made the team.

An hour or so later, Angelina Johnson was looking down at her list of things to do. She looked up in a bored manner.

"Seeker tryouts?" she called out, barely even scanning the crowd. Someone pushed through, however, holding a hand into the air.

"I am!"

Angelina fumbled with the paper in shock as Ginny Weasley appeared before the group, dressed in worn, old Quidditch gear. She had an old Cleansweep Six at her side. Harry blinked at her a couple of times, and Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Honesty," she mumbled under her breath. "I'm here for the _backup position_? You know, the one we don't have filled?"

Angelina chuckled nervously, and gestured towards the field. "Fine, get going. We'll release the Snitch, and you'll circle the pitch three times before going after it. Find it in under ten minutes, and we'll see."

Ginny nodded, grinning. "Yes ma'am!"

The redhead mounted the old broomstick and pushed off, flying into the sky. Angelina frowned, using her hand to shade her eyes as she watched the girl fly. "Look at how she holds her body- it'll need work. She'd make a decent Chaser right now, with no training," she said after a moment, "but with a bit of help, she could definitely be a Seeker. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry plucked the Snitch from the case, and held it out in his hands. It unraveled, its small, shining wings bright in the sunlight. "I think," he said as the Snitch took off in a gold blur, "we need to see her in action."

The Gryffindor team had their eyes glued to Ginny as the redheaded girl took three laps around the pitch and then flew to the middle of the field, hovering there for several moments. Harry, however, had his eyes on the small golden orb hovering over the far, center goal. Ginny, too, seemed to see it, for she shot off like a dart towards the hoop.

"There she goes!" Fred cried, gripping his Cleansweep Five tightly. George nodded beside him, his eyes glued to his sister's form.

"She's pretty good at home," Ron offered nervously. Ginny dropped straight down, following the Snitch, and every Weasley sharply inhaled. Ron looked a bit grey. "But she's never done _that_ before…"

Angelina looked like the cat who'd swallowed the canary. "You Weasleys," she began, her dark eyes wide and filled with glee, "are a _mine_ of Quidditch talent. And Ron's trying out this year, too?" Ron nodded weakly. "Wonderful!" the Quidditch captain declared.

"She's got it!"

Harry's cry drew everyone's attention as Ginny let out a shrill yell, waving the Snitch in the air. Angelina giggled, grabbing her broomstick and mounting it. "Harry, you'll help me train her up, right?"

"Definitely," Harry agreed. Angelina laughed, and kicked off. Marik glanced at Harry.

"What's next?"

Harry gestured to the Ravenclaws across the field. "They'll tryout any Seekers, then the Hufflepuffs, and then the Slytherins. After that, the Snakes'll tryout any Keepers and then we will, then Ravenclaw, and Hufflpuffs."

Marik glanced over at where Ryou was standing, looking very nervous, and smirked. "I can't _wait_ to see the Keepers…"

--

"Now, now, Ryou… it wasn't so bad… I mean, sure, you bled all over the field, but Madam Pomfrey was able to fix _almost_ everything…"

Ryou's reply was muffled from under his pillow, where he was hiding from the rest of his House. Yuugi sat at the edge of his bed, patting the area where the teen's shoulder would be.

"Really! The important part is you _tried_," Yuugi reasoned. Ryou peaked out from under the pillow, his brown eyes outlined by black bruises.

"Yes," Ryou said, eyes flashing angrily, "I tried out for Keeper, and then they went and threw the Quaffle _at my face_, when I was still _on the ground_, and it _broke my nose_. Now I look like a raccoon and I'm sure they all think I'm completely inept."

"I don't think you're inept!" Yuugi declared, and Yami, who was sitting on Yuugi's bed, nodded. "None of us think any less of you. Right Kaiba?"

The spirit turned to glare at the brunet, who was reading over their notes for the test on the next day. A pair of dark blue eyes looked up over the notebook. "I have always felt you were all losers already, so _nothing_ could worsen my opinion of you."

Ryou chuckled darkly before pulling the covers over his head. "Thanks, you guys. Please, allow me a few moments to mope before we head to the library to study for the exam."

Kaiba stared at the bundle of blankets before he closed the notebook and set it on the table beside his chair. He stood, brushing off his black robes, and walked quietly over to the bed where Ryou lay. Yami and Yuugi exchanged bewildered looks before Kaiba reached down and, in one motion, flipped the mattress.

"Moping time is _over_," Kaiba said, smirking at the mess of sheets beneath the mattress. He spun around and walked back to his chair, picking up the notebook and sitting down. Ryou crawled out from under the mattress and glared at Kaiba, stumbling to his feet and shedding his bedsheet cloak. He pointed at Kaiba, opening his mouth and shutting it, blinking rapidly. Finally, his jaw snapped shut and he growled low in his throat. He marched out of the room, mumbling inaudibly under his breath, and the door slammed behind him.

Yami glowered at Kaiba, while Yuugi tossed a pillow at the CEO, which smacked him on the head. When Kaiba looked up to glare at him, the violet-eyed teen glared right back. "What was that for, Kaiba?" the younger teen exclaimed.

Kaiba stood, closing the notebook once more. He gestured to where the bed lay, disheveled. "I hate self-pitying saps. If Ryou wants to mope about how mean everyone is to him, he can do it _after_ we study."

Yuugi's eyes narrowed into a glare, which was an odd sight on is usually kind and innocent face. Kaiba stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond. Yuugi didn't give him a chance.

"In the last few months, Ryou has," Yuugi began counting on his fingers, "watched his father die, been permanently scarred, been forced to move, and been stabbed." Harsh violet eyes stared coldly at Kaiba, practically burning with fury. "If _any_ of us deserve a bit of time to mope, it's him. And he _hasn_'_t_," Yuugi murmured, glancing to the side. "He doesn't even _talk_ about it anymore. It's like… his father was always dead, and they just recently found the body." He looked back at Kaiba, whose face was a carefully schooled blank canvas. "So stop being such a _jackass_ just because we show more emotion than you!"

That said, Yuugi snatched up his bag and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Kaiba stared after him, surprise evident on his features. Yami came up beside him, eyeing the CEO with a careful frown. Kaiba turned back to him with a level stare. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'pulling pigtails', Kaiba?" the spirit asked casually, leaning his head to the side. The brunet frowned at him.

"Yes. Why?" he responded, eyeing Yami carefully. The once-Pharaoh merely shook his head, a careful smile on his face.

"If you have to ask," Yami said, laughter ringing in his voice and flashing in his crimson eyes, "then you'll never know."

Before Kaiba could ask further, the spirit faded from sight, but the sound of his laughter was left behind. Kaiba frowned, glaring at the space Yami once held.

"I hate riddles," he told the air, and strode from the room a moment later, his own bag and the notebook in his grasp.

--

The first thing on the day following the incredibly awkward study session (where Yuugi, Marik, and Ryou barely spoke to Kaiba and Yami kept giving him odd smirks), the Shadow Mages could be found holed up in the library once more, spending the last few hours before breakfast studying with far less hostility, since Yuugi couldn't stay mad at anyone for long, and Ryou had gotten over his ill mood, and Marik didn't care either way.

Afterwards, Marik and the rest of the Shadow Mages came down to breakfast, and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Mokuba was over at the Ravenclaw table, eating with Daniel and Terry Boot. The Lions down the table scowled at the invasion of silver and green, and the group at the table's end ignored them completely. Angelina glanced over, not even looking at the Slytherins.

"Marik, there's Quidditch practice tonight, and you'd better be there," she said.

Marik swallowed his bite of pancake. "Oh, yeah. I'll be there, granted the test doesn't take that long," Marik said, harpooning a pancake with is fork. Ryou groaned, grabbing the pitcher of pumpkin juice and filling up his own cup with it.

"Please, don't remind me," the albino moaned. He took several gulps of the liquid, and Kaiba merely raised an eyebrow at his antics.

"Drowning your sorrows," the CEO began knowingly, "works better with _alcohol_."

Ron glanced down the table to where Seamus Finnegan had taken a seat. The Irish student glanced down towards their end at the mention of alcohol. Harry swallowed his sausage before speaking.

"Don't try to turn it into alcohol, though. We've seen some… _explosive_ results."

Ryou glanced at the harmless cup with a bit more caution. Kaiba merely smirked at him, poking the cup with his fork. Ryou swatted the utensil away good-naturedly, and took a swig from the cup again.

Yuugi, however, jammed another bit of food into his mouth, eyes staring at the tabletop and mumbling facts under his breath. Hermione shot Marik a glance, but it was Ryou who answered.

"That's how he studies. He asks himself questions, and he answers aloud. It works really well for him." '_I_'_m sure having a spirit in your head helping you answer questions isn_'_t so bad, either_.'

Hermione nodded. "Ah. I'll try that once, see if it works for me."

All conversation was further halted when the owl post arrived in a flurry of wing beats. A screech owl came to a stop beside Hermione's plate, dropping the Daily Prophet and holding out its leg with a leather pouch on it. The bushy-haired girl stuffed a Knut inside it and unrolled her paper while the bird took off. Harry immediately leaned closer, raising an eyebrow.

"Any news?" he asked, a bit nervously. Hermione scanned the front page, frowning.

"No, noth- wait!" she gasped, pushing aside her plate, and flipped open the newspaper, pointing to an article. "Look here: '_A Black_-_Soul Nearing Home_?_ According to a reliable source_,_ the Ministry of Magic has received word that the notorious mass murderer_,_ Sirius Black_,_ has currently taken refuge in London_'!" Her brown eyes shot up to Harry's pale and sickly face. "Oh Merlin, what happened?" she whispered.

Harry closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Remember on the train? What Malfoy said? About _dogging_ me? Wormtail must have told everyone about Sirius being an animagus. So…"

Ron dropped his fork to his plate, unable to keep his appetite. "So Lucius bloody Malfoy recognized him."

Ignoring the utterly confused looks of the Shadow Mages, Hermione turned her eyes back to the paper, a faint red blush of frustration spreading over her face. "I _knew_ him going out was an absolutely _horrible_ idea!" she hissed, more to herself than anyone else.

Harry pushed his plate away, unable to stomach anymore. With the mood so dark and depressing, Yuugi, Kaiba, Ryou, and Marik each lost interest in their food. Yuugi sighed to them, gesturing towards the doors. "Well," he began, "we'd better get going."

Hermione, eager for something to take their mind from the depressing news, leapt onto the new subject. "Where will you be taking the test?"

Yuugi shrugged. "The Headmaster's office."

"Oh," the brown-eyed girl said. With that, the four quickly left the Golden Trio with their thoughts.

--

"So, how did the test go?"

Marik, sitting atop the Shooting Star broom he used for Quidditch practice, looked over at Harry, who hovered with Ginny a few feet away. Marik shrugged, flying a bit closer to them.

"Not that bad, actually," the blonde replied, "but when you have Ryou and Kaiba- who I _swear_ are Ravens covered in snakeskin- as study partners, well…"

Ginny laughed, and Harry nodded knowingly. "Hermione's the _exact_ same. We keep asking her how she managed to get out of Ravenclaw…"

Marik smirked, and chanced a glance towards the stands. He grinned widely, spying a familiar splash of white. "Hey!" he said excitedly, pointing. "Ryou and the others are here!"

Ginny's smiled melted away into a scowl. "And they brought _friends_," she hissed. Marik frowned once more at the stands.

"Oh," he said softly, spying the shock of blond hair beside Yuugi's black and red, "Malfoy's here. And… Crabbe, Goyle… Zabini's here, too. And Parkinson… Jeez, is there anyone _left_ in their common room? That's got to be their whole Quidditch team…" Marik squinted, seeing a blur of red, blue, and green sitting together a bit further down the stands. "Oh, look! Mokuba's sitting with Kaiba and Daniel! And that's got to be Daniel's brother, Terry."

Ginny glared sullenly at Marik's back and rolled her eyes. "I forgot how _close_ you were to them," she snapped, before flying away from the duo. Harry watched her fly off before looking over at Marik. The blond raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well?" he said testily. "Are _you_ going say something about my choice in friends?"

Harry shook his head, and looked up at the stands before waving, grinning broadly. "No," he said, not even looking at Marik, "because then I'd say something about _my_ choice in friends, too."

Marik's face lit up in a grin and he turned to wave at the crowd gathered, too. "Hey!" he shouted up to them. "Stop spyin' on me, Yuugi!"

Yuugi's sharp, melodious laughter rang from the stands, and the hikari stood up (it had to be Yuugi- he was too short to be Yami) and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Like I'd need to!"

Marik laughed at him, and heard Harry chuckling softly beside him. "You guys are so strange," Harry finally said. "I've never seen anyone like you before."

Marik seemed to inflate with pride. "I doubt you'll _ever_ see anyone like us ever again."

"Hey, you two!" Angelina's voice broke through their revere. "Get over here- it's not 'chit-chat' time!"

Sharing a quick smirk, Marik and Harry flew down to where the rest of the group had gathered in the middle of the pitch. Angelina held the Quaffle, looking over the group and being careful not to glance in the direction of the stands where their spectators were. "I've already told everyone else this," she said stiffly, "but no matter _what_ they-" she jerked her head towards the stands- "say, I want you to play your best. Got it?"

The team mumbled their agreement, and she smiled. "Good. Now, Harry- take Ginny to the far side of the field and get going on some diving practice, and then some acceleration. I know that broom she's on is old, but _skill_ is what wins the match." She turned on her broom. "Fred, George? I want two to take pot shots at _everyone_ during the practice. Don't aim to hurt, just… scare us a bit." Fred and George had twin evil smiles. Angelina looked over the rest of the group. "Now, I want us Chasers to give Ron a good work-out, alright? And make sure you get the Quaffle, Marik. _You_ need to practice the most." When everyone nodded, Angelina pumped her fist into the air. "Right team. Go to it!"

As a man of competition, Marik had been expecting the immediate onslaught of slurs and insults from the peanut gallery above. So, when Malfoy's sharp, stinging voice called down:

"By Merlin's left crystal ball, what the bloody hell are you _on_, Ishtar? I've seen _hag noses_ straighter than your broomstick!"

Marik called back up to him without even looking: "You're right, Malfoy! The only thing _less straight_ than my broomstick is… _you_!"

He flashed the stands a grin, winking at them, and they erupted in laughter. Marik swooped forward, catching the Quaffle thrown to him and passed it over to Katie, who took a shot that was barely blocked by Ron. Marik dove again, grabbing the large red ball. As he returned, he spied Angelina trying to smother a grin and Katie Bell sniggering into the back of her hand. He threw the ball at the leftmost hoop, and was blocked once more by a slightly-smiling Ron.

"This coming from the man who wears _eye liner_!" Parkinson responded suddenly. Marik faltered, nearly falling from his broom and blinking rapidly. Ron coughed violently into his hands, and Angelina nearly dropped the Quaffle. Marik swung around, glaring mockingly at the crowds.

"It's called _kohl_!" he cried. "And I borrowed it from Yuugi!"

The stands shrieked with laughter as the Yuugi ducked down, covering his head with his arms. Ryou leaned forward in his seat, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Let's not make this a fight into who is more effeminate, since we all know _I'd_ win that fight!"

Ginny paused in her flying, shaking a fist into the air. "You're more girly than _I_ am!"

They could see Ryou flip his hair from his seat. "Jealousy will get you nowhere!" he replied, but there was laughter in his voice.

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but had to duck a Bludger flying at her. She stuck out her tongue at George, and had to dodge the second Bludger right after. Fred swung around and called up into the stands:

"Ryou, are all the men as girly as you where you come from? Judging by your friends, I'd have to say 'yes'!"

Ryou suddenly burst into laughter, and he couldn't speak for a moment. "I hope you realize," he began, "that I'm _British_, right?"

Laughter exploded from the pitch.

--

George fell back into the couch in the common room, still chuckling. "That was _the best_ practice _ever_," the redhead declared. Fred quickly joined his twin.

"Quite productive, indeed. I can't believe we managed to nail Marik this time, though!"

Marik came in, smiling but limping a little. "That wasn't a fair shot," the blond replied. He lowered himself into the squishiest chair in the room. "I was wiping tears from my eyes. My hands weren't even on the broomstick!"

"Still counts!" Angelina chirped, leading the other two Chasers inside. Her mood appeared greatly increased from earlier. She dropped into another chair, Katie and Alicia Spinnet quickly doing so after. "As captain, what I say, goes."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny were the last into the room, snickering between themselves. "And then he said," Harry said between giggles, "'_I'm British_'!"

The trio broke down into a fit of laughter once again. Ginny plopped between Fred and George while Ron and Harry took a seat in front of the fireplace. Angelina cleared her throat, and the rest of the team looked over at her. She grinned.

"It was an unorthodox way to practice, and I don't really want to do it again, but I'm rather glad it ended up that way. It got us all comfortable with each other."

Ron looked admirably at Marik. "How did you come up with those replies so fast?" he asked in awe. Marik shrugged.

"I played Duel Monsters competitively for awhile," he said. "Talking smack to your opponent is basically the second half of the game." He leaned back, closing his eyes as he remembered. "If you get inside your opponent's head, allow them to rattle you, to get you, to make you doubt yourself, then you lose. Simple." Marik snuggled deeper into his chair, yawning a bit. "Yuugi's a master at it," Marik admitted. "I've seen him take down opponents he hasn't even _played_ against yet just by getting in their heads." Marik tapped his skull. "So, you've got to keep your mind at ease, block what he says. Or," Marik chuckled, "you do what I do- make yourself laugh at them."

Ron smiled a bit. "Just… make yourself laugh at them?"

Marik nodded. "Secret to success. Laugh at 'em. Nothing throws your opponent more than that. Yuugi uses that a lot, too. Even against me. And when he does it… eugh…" Marik rolled over in the chair and snorted, curling into a ball. "You're toast."

The team watched him for a moment, and then Marik's breathing evened out. Harry blinked a few times. "Did he… fall asleep?"

Alicia reached over and poked his shoulder. When nothing happened, the brunette's eyes darted over to Harry. "I… believe he did."

"But…" Ron said, flabbergasted, "it's not even _dark out_."

Ginny shrugged, getting up and stretching. "Well, he had the long test this morning, so I'm sure he's exhausted. _I_'_m_ heading outside where it's still nice. Who's with me?"

The rest of the team seemed glad to leave the deserted common room, but Ron and Harry looked miserably at one another. "We can't," Harry said. "Homework."

Ginny winced. "Oh. Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks," the two fifth years answered in unison. They watched their teammates sans Marik leave the room through the portrait hole, and then went to get their bags. They returned a moment later, and saw Hermione sitting in a chair, knitting a pair of elf-socks while Crookshanks sat on Marik's armrest and watched him sleep. A moment later, Sekhmet darted from behind them and hopped up next to the orange creature. The bushy-haired girl gestured over to Marik.

"Crookshanks seems to like Marik and Sekhmet," she offered. Ron barely even looked over.

"Great," he said, dumping his bag out on to the table. Harry set his bag beside him and fished out several papers that had his notes on the essays he had due. Ron glowered at him. "You know, you suck."

Harry shrugged, grabbing a quill and starting in on his final draft of McGonagall's essay. "You kept disappearing without a word, and Hermione was always sewing. I had to do _something_."

Ron stared dreamily at Harry's notes. "Would you mind, when you're done, of course…"

"You can have a look at my notes, Ron. You can't copy my essays, though."

Ron gave Harry his winning smile. "You're a lifesaver."

Hermione reached over, picking up a page of Harry's notes. She looked it over, nodding her head. "You must have been very bored, Harry. These are very well done."

Harry flushed slightly, taking the notes back from her. "Ah, thanks. I just… had a lot of time on my hands…"

Hermione shook her head, and went back to sewing, mumbling some sort of magical laws under her breath. Once enough time had passed that the students outside the common room had returned and gone to their dorms, Harry finished the last of his essays, and Ron busy pulling something together with Harry's notes. The youngest Weasley son was groaning under his breath.

"I swear… never leave it this long again… too much to do… Jupiter has that many moons? … McGonagall's mad- it's too much! …"

Meanwhile, Harry had pulled out the defense book Hermione had suggested they get (also, it happened to be the same copy they sent to Ryou for his birthday). It was actually the best textbook for the course Harry had seen in all his time at Hogwarts. Of course, when compared to Lockhart's books, Umbridge's book, and the basic guide they'd used for the first four years, it was understandable. Quills out with a green and a black inkwell, Harry set to work marking up the textbook with notes and highlights.

Ron paused in the middle of his writing, and looked over Harry's shoulder. "You're doing a heck of job on your copy there, mate."

Harry snickered softly, and jotted a few words down in the margin of his textbook. "I prefer to simplify things as I go, so I don't get confused later. Makes things stick better."

Ron hummed under his breath and went back to Harry's notes. Several minutes later, Marik rolled over in his sleep, grunting angrily, "Stop the damn tapping."

Ron frowned at him. "Go upstairs if it's bothering you so much."

Marik peaked open one eye. "Not the scratching of quills, the _tapping_ noise."

The trio paused, listening hard. Ron, impatient, glared at Marik. "I don't hear-"

"Shush!" Hermione said, and whipped her head towards the night-darkened windows. "Ron, look!"

Ron swung around and blinked rapidly. A decent-sized screech owl hovered by the window, tapping desperately at the glass. Ron jumped to his feet. "Bloody hell!" he cried, rousing Marik from his state of semi-consciousness. "That's Hermes! That's Percy's owl!" While Ron quickly let the poor bird inside, Harry, Hermione, and Marik all came to his side.

"You don't think something's happened to him, do you?" Hermione asked. Ron was paler and untied the letter from the bird who was perched upon his shoulder. The bird took off at once, and Ron looked down at the letter, and the color returned.

"No, Percy signed the envelope. Thank Merlin… I was so nervous there for a moment…"

The redhead opened the pale envelope and unfolded the letter, making is way back to the couch. Figuring all was well, the other three returned to their seats, and waited for Ron to tell them what was up. However, Ron paused in mid-step, and stood in the middle of the room. His eyes darted across the page, gripping it tighter and tighter until Marik was sure Ron was would tear the letter to bits. When he finished, Ron jerked the letter away from his face and seethed in place. With halting footsteps, Ron came back to the couch and sat back down, placing the letter as far from him as he could.

Harry glanced at Ron, and when his friend nodded, he picked the letter up and held it so that both himself and Hermione could read it from their seats. Marik watched as their faces, too, contorted with disgust. Harry crumpled it into a ball and tossed it to Marik, who unfolded it carefully. He looked at the paper, nodding his head.

"This isn't so bad," he said, looking up. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at him in utter bewilderment. Marik chuckled, handing the paper back to Ron. "I'm joking. The Language Charm needs to be renewed, so I can't read English anymore. Tell me what it says while I can still understand your language audibly."

Hermione scowled heavily. "Percy, the black sheep of the Weasley family and Ron's third-oldest brother, basically goes off on the tangent about how great it is for Ron to have become a Prefect. Then," Hermione snarled, "he tears into Headmaster Dumbledore, saying how he won't be in control for much longer. Which makes me nervous, actually. But anyway, he then goes on to talk about Harry and-"

"How violent and unstable I may or may not be," the raven-haired teen grumbled, green eyes flashing. He then snickered. "Suggested that Ron go talk to Umbridge. _Apparently_, no one's heard about the _Sanguis Quill_ fiasco at the Ministry. Even worse," Harry frowned at the floor, "is that somehow her ability to effect what happens inside Hogwarts is going to increase, and we'll know by looking through the Daily Prophet tomorrow."

Ron smirked. "Although, on a more positive note, apparently the whole staff hates her, so it's not like we're alone in this."

Hermione, Harry, and Ron fell silent, and Marik placed is hands into his lap, leaning his head to the side. "It says things about us, doesn't it? Espesially about me and Ryou?" the Egyptian asked. Hermione nodded.

"Yes."

Marik sighed, shrugging. "Since I have _no clue_ what it says, and your voices are becoming harder and harder to decipher," the Egyptian said, his accent becoming more and more pronounced, "I can't tell you my side. Figure out what you want to say, and when my Charm is restored tomorrow, we'll talk about it. Alright?"

Before they could answer, Marik rose, stretching. "TisbaHu 'ala kher," he said before head up into the dormitory. Ron looked over at Hermione, awaiting her answer. The bookworm shook her head.

"It sounded… Arabic, maybe?" she said. "I don't know, Ron."

Ron gaped at her. "You… don't know something?"

"Shut up," she said good naturedly. "If you finish that essay in the next twenty minutes, I'll look it over for you."

That's all it took for Ron to get back to work. Harry smirked at Hermione, and the brunette merely smiled.

--

First thing, before the sun even rose in the sky, Marik had gone and gotten his Charm renewed by Professor McGonagall. She seemed quite irritable, and Marik had placed it on because it was early on a Sunday morning. However, when Marik reentered the common room and glanced at the notice board, he found out the real reason.

"Apophis has come to claim us," Marik found himself murmuring and he swung around and raced up the dormitory stairs.

"Wake up!" he called, jumping into the dormitory and kicking Ron and Harry's beds. "Someone just played a damn good trap card and our life points are open to attack. Move it!"

It took several minutes before Ron, Harry, and the rest of the Gryffindor House all came down into the common room, where Marik found Hermione and forced her to the notice board. Harry and Ron quickly joined them. Hermione's eyes widened when she caught sight of the newest addition, a large black and gold notice that nearly took up the whole space, and she automatically began to read out loud.

"'The Ministry, as of seven o'clock in the evening on the day of Saturday, September eighth, 1995, has passed legislation, Educational Decree Twenty-three, creating the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. By mandate of the Minister of Magic, Deloris Umbridge will be granted this position.'"

The room had gone eerily quiet. Suddenly, the notice board expanded, and a second black and gold notice appeared, causing the first to shrink. Hermione gasped as she scanned the paper and clenched her fists as she read the notice once again.

"'By Order of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as of five-fifty-four in the morning of Sunday, September ninth, 1995, Educational Decree Twenty-four was passed. Educational Decree Twenty-four states that all Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.'"

The students all gasped, but Hermione dredged on. "'An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to reform may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Deloris Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor (Deloris Umbridge). Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor (Deloris Umbridge) will be expelled. Signed, Deloris Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor.'"

The Gryffindors had gone completely silent, barely even breathing. Angelina Johnson collapsed into a nearby chair, blinking dazedly into the unlit fireplace. Harry, too, found himself suddenly sitting in a chair. He placed his head in his hands.

"This is for me," he moaned, shaking his head. "She's punishing _me_. She can't use her quill on me, so she'll take away the only thing that makes me _happy_." He looked to where Angelina was sitting, staring at him. His green eyes were bright. "I'm so sorry."

Angelina shook her head. "Don't worry, Harry," she said, jumping to her feet. "I'll get our Quidditch team back. No problem. She likes me, and she likes Katie. We'll make it work." The dark-eyed girl scanned the room, spotting Katie Belle, completely dressed. She grinned, gesturing for her to come over. "C'mon, Belle, we've got a toad to kiss-ass to."

The Gryffindors broke into applause as the two girl rushed from the common room. Harry smiled sadly as they left, and Marik parked his rear on the armrest of Harry's chair.

"It could be for me, you know," the blond suggested. "_I__'m_ the one who exposed her quill. _I'm_ the one who made a fool of her in her first class. Don't be such a glory hound, Harry!"

Marik ruffled Harry's already messy hair and left. Harry watched him go and the rest of his House slowly vacate the common room. He appreciated Marik trying to cheer him up, but Harry knew it was for him. He exhaled, thinking about what Marik said yesterday.

'_So_,' Harry thought, looking at the fireplace, '_she_'_s already inside my head_._ How do I laugh about this_?'

And Harry discovered the flaw in Marik's great plan of victory- sometimes, things just weren't funny.

--

**AFTER NOTES**: You know, I planned on having Kaiba try out for Beater, and the only scene that kept playing in my mind was Kaiba just smacking the ball at Malfoy on the sidelines. Unfortunately, it never came to be, for Kaiba would never have let anyone blackmail him into anything (excluding anything dealing with Mokuba). So, we have Yuugi (or, rather, Yami), Marik, and Ryou all trying out. Ryou was never going to make the team. Had Yami Bakura been here, the spirit would have made the poor kid tryout for Beater, I'm sure of it, but, as it were, Ryou doesn't seem to be the type to handle balls very well. (_I will not make a dirty joke. I will not make a dirty joke. I will not make a dirty joke._)

_Also_: Hey, before I forget _again_, I've got a LiveJournal account (Phate_Phoenix), where I've been posting chapter update notices. There's a link on my profile If you want to come over and discuss it, or ask questions, or whatever, feel free to. It's not doing much else, at the moment. XD

**TRANSLALTION**: _TisbaHu 'ala kher_ - Arabic (in Egypt) for 'Good night' to a group of people

**CHAPTER TITLE**: LUDIFICO - _To make game of, to frustrate_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ Harry's frustration peaks during his Week of Hell, at the end of which a sacrifice will be made. And what is Malfoy so pissed about now?_


	16. Regina

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

--

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  
****REGINA**

--

_**Last Time**_**:**_ Quidditch practice is over, and Marik, Yami, Ron, and Ginny are on the team! However, just as the celebrations start, Umbridge passes a rule that banned all school groups- including sports. How is Harry going to fix this now? _

--

Harry stared at the blank piece of parchment before him, feeling completely at a loss. The raven-haired teen secluded himself in the library that morning after the decrees appeared and sat at his favorite table in hopes of getting his thoughts together. His plan was to send a letter to Sirius and Lupin, telling them all about the crazy week he had had, from his experiences with Umbridge to Marik's discovery of the _Sanguis Quill_, from Quidditch to Hagrid's disappearance, from the surprising support he had from the fifth-year Hufflepuffs and Luna to a crazy idea bubbling in the back of his head… However, finding the right words was more difficult than he originally thought.

"Ugh…" he groaned, dropping his head against the table, causing Madam Prince to look over at him. Even if he figured out what he wanted to say, he would have to put it into to code so that anyone else shuffling through his mail would not be able to understand it. After twelve minutes of staring at the paper, he finally managed to locate some words, and put his quill to the page.

--

_Dear Jonathan and Stubby,_

_It's been an interesting week here at Hogwarts, especially with the new transfers. I'm sure you've heard by now, but three of them got into Slytherin, and the other two are in Gryffindor- Marik and Mokuba. Mokuba's wicked-smart, and gets all the first year stuff quickly, which Hermione thinks is because his brother went over it with him before he got here. Marik is a bit of a hard read, though. He can be a real jerk at times, but a great friend at others. I kind of wish Ryou or Yuugi had been made Gryffindor instead of him, because I got along so well with those two. Really glad that Kaiba (Seto, not Mokuba, of course) isn't in here, though. Hermione seems to really dislike him, and I think we'd have a hex-off in the middle of the common room eventually._

_Hey, you know who we have for our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Delores Umbridge. She was one of the people at my trial, so it was a bit of a shock to see her again. She's about as nice as Stubby's mum, and just as pretty. You've probably heard about this, too, but she's made some new Educational Decrees. You've probably heard of them by now, though, so I won't waste your time. And, yes, our Quidditch team is currently _not_ together. Umbridge is thinking it over, Angelina says._

_They've changed the curriculum of the Defense Against Dark Arts class. It's more like a Muggle Theory Class now than a hands on course. Hermione's already ahead about thirty chapters in the book. I think the transfers also read it through during their stay- said it was a great pool of basic knowledge for the first-year exam. Kind of says something about the book then, huh?_

_I don't know if you've heard about it or not, but Professor Umbridge was planning on using a _Sanguis Quill_ as a punishment device. She tried to have Marik use it, and it apparently didn't work on him. He recognized it from a book he'd read, and asked Professor McGonagall about it. We were all really surprised about it, because Umbridge has never given us a reason to doubt her before._

_I've made a few new friends, surprisingly. The Hufflepuffs this year are living up to their reputation of being friendly and loyal, I'll tell you that! Speaking of Hufflepuffs, tell Dora 'Thanks' when you see her, for sticking by me when things got tough last year._

_Is there any information on Hagrid's illness? Is he getting better, or is he still pretty sick? I know it was pretty bad earlier, but I hope he's coming back soon. I really miss him being here, and so does the rest of the school._

_Hey, John? This next part is mostly for Stubby. Stubby, I'm thinking about making a large purchase in the near future. I don't know how to get that much out of my account. Is there a way to do it like a Muggle with checking or do I need to manually go down to Gringotts and pull it out? They don't have much of kind of information in the library here._

_I miss you, and hope to hear from you soon,_

_Harry_

_P.S. Make sure you read this aloud to Snuffles. I know he gets lonely when we're all away. Hi Snuffles, I miss you! Be a good boy! See you at Christmas!_

--

Harry slowly made his way through the just-waking castle, two pieces of parchment held tightly to his chest. 'John' was Remus's middle name, so the werewolf would definitely get that. He hoped that Lupin would get the 'Stubby Boardman' reference, but if he didn't, Sirius would- if there was anyone who would look up all the information they could about what hidden lives they might be living, it was Sirius. He probably got a kick out of it, too. The other piece of parchment was a letter of a rather… _different_ nature.

"Merrrow…"

Harry stopped mid-step, glancing over his shoulder to spy the dust-colored Mrs. Norris standing a few paces behind him. The cat's bright yellow eyes seemed to glow in the early-morning light. Harry frowned at the cat, holding up the letters.

"I'm sending some mail," he grumbled. "I don't think that's cause for alerting Filch, is it?"

Mrs. Norris took a few steps closer, blinking at him and sniffing the air. Harry raised an eyebrow at her. The cat snorted and turned around, darting like a grey lightning bolt down the hallway. Harry growled after her.

"But… what am I doing _now_?!"

He glared after her for a moment before he turned back around and stormed up the corridor, grumbling under his breath. When he finally arrived at the Owlery, he found he could not keep his dark mood- the sun was bright and the sky was clear, and the air smelled fresh. The straw-covered floor crunched as he made his way across the room and the peaceful calm of the space made Harry feel better than he had all week. He turned his eyes upward, squinting through the light-filled space to find his own owl amongst the many.

"Hedwig?" he called, holding out his arm. A high-pitched call sounded from above, very familiar to the raven-haired teen below. A white blur dove down from the very top of the building, and landed gently on his arm. Hedwig's bright amber eyes blinked at him, and Harry stroked her head. "Hello, girl."

Harry held the letter out to the owl, smiling at her. "You remember Moony, right?" Hedwig blinked at him again, and for some reason, Harry felt that she did. He grinned at her. "Great," he said, and tied the letter to her leg. "Take this to him, and stay there until he can reply." He paused. "And, uh, don't hurt anyone this time, okay?" She hooted at him, and Harry stroked her head one more time. "Well, take care."

Hedwig then leapt from his arm, soaring out the nearest window. Harry strode over to it, and watched her go, feeling a moment's remorse that she, too, was gone now. As she disappeared into the horizon, Harry turned around and looked up again, scanning the school owls for one that looked like it could get the job done. Spying a small black owl with wide orange eyes who blinked down at him, he held out his arm and smiled. The bird flew down eagerly, hooting.

"Hello," Harry said. The owl hooted again, and held out its leg to him. Harry tied the second, smaller letter to it.

"Now," he whispered softly, taking the bird back to the same window, "I don't know the name of this person, but I think you can figure it out, right?" The owl looked affronted that he would doubt its skills, and Harry smiled.

"Good."

He leaned closer, whispering the location in its ear. With an eager hoot, the owl took off, flapping its wings rapidly as it took off over the forest. As he watched the owl disappear, a larger, darker shape seemed to explode from the Forbidden Forest, causing Harry's green eyes to lock onto its form.

It was that… _thing_ again, that thing he had seen when they had arrived at the castle, that thing pulling the cart. That thing Luna said she could see. That thing no one else could see. That large, black horse with bat-like wings. It circled around the forest, lazily, as though it were something it did all the time. (It probably did, Harry thought, seeing as how only _crazy people_ could see it.) It seemed to hover in midair before letting out an echoing warble, and dove back into the forest, a dusting of leaves and birds taking flight as it disappeared.

"What are you looking at, Harry?"

Harry fought the urge to jump around and draw his wand. Instead, his grip tightened on the windowsill, and he exhaled. He then glanced over his shoulder, and relaxed immediately. "Oh, just watching Hedwig disappear," he lied. The last letter had to remain a secret, and he wasn't about to tell _Cho_ about the odd dragon-horses.

The black-haired Ravenclaw was standing in the middle of the room, probably arriving moments after the tiny black owl was gone. She was holding a letter and a parcel, and she smiled back at him. "I understand. Mum's like that about her owl." She looked over the birds in the Owlery. "I prefer cats, though. Mum's getting me one for my birthday this year. Speaking of 'Mum' and 'birthdays'…" She held up the gift and letter. "I just remembered five minutes ago that it was her birthday today. I forgot to send her gift out, so I ran up here. It's been a crazy week, hasn't it?"

Harry chuckled, although his insides were churning with nerves. '_WhatdoIsay whatdoIsay whatdoIsay whatdoIsay_-' "Really crazy," he said, but gestured to the windows, "but it looks like some nice weather for Quidditch." Cho's eyes found his and she smiled. Harry felt his chest tighten, and he smiled back.

"It really is nice weather," Cho agreed and went back to her search. She found a suitable barn owl, and held out her arm for it to come to her. "Is your team practicing today?"

Harry shook his head. "No, we've still got to get Umbridge to allow us to reform. I'm heading out with our backup Seeker, though, for some one-on-one training later."

Cho looked at him, halfway through tying her parcel onto the owl. "Oh, she isn't letting you play yet?"

Harry sighed and shook his head again. "Nope. But we're thinking it's because of me and Marik. Just making sure we sweat a little."

Cho's face immediately morphed into a frown. "Marik. Isn't he the one that found out about the _Sanguis Quill_?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he was."

Cho nodded, her eyes darting up to stare at Harry. "He was very brave when he stood up to Umbridge for you. I'm glad you have great friends watching your back, Harry," she said. Her face flushed a little, and she went back to tying the parcel to the owl. "I'd hate for something to happen to you."

Harry blinked, fighting to keep a large smile off his face. He flushed slightly, turning his eyes to the window once more. "I'm glad you care."

Cho looked up, blinking at him. She opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly the door to the Owlery swung open, and Argus Filch burst forward, face flushed, hair a mess, and he was panting. Trotting up behind him was that damn Mrs. Norris, and once again Harry wanted nothing more than to punt her out the nearest window. The caretaker thrust a finger towards Harry.

"There you are!" he snapped. "Now, I've got it on good authority that you've been planning on sending out for a massive order of Dungbombs!"

Harry stared at him dimly, trying to ignore the overwhelming desire to curl up and _die_ because this was happening in front of _Cho_. "Whose 'authority'?" Harry asked, green eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "No one besides Cho and me even knew I had a letter. Oh," Harry paused, turning to look at the grey Maine Coon, whose lantern gaze was fixed on the nervous-looking owls, "and Mrs. Norris."

Filch huffed, waving his hand through the air. "That doesn't matter. Now, hand over what you're trying to send!"

Harry held out his hands, his green eyes flashing as he smirked. "Sorry," he said, "I already sent it."

Filch's face paled and flushed rapidly, reminding Harry of his uncle unpleasantly. "You… you already…"

"Sent it," Harry finished with a nod. Filch frowned, his jaw twitching in aggravation. Cho cleared her throat, earning three sets of eyes.

"That's the truth, Mister Filch," the Ravenclaw said pleasantly. "I watched him. Besides, isn't Dungbombs more the Weasley twins' style?"

The caretaker, although unmoved by her sweet-talk, nodded slowly. "It would be," he growled. He then turned to glare at Harry. "However, _James_ was a hooligan, and you aren't shaping up to be any better! Always sneaking around, up to no good. Don't think I haven't got a clue about what you and your friends get up to." Harry's face flushed with rage, his green eyes narrowing, but Filch continued. "If I even catch a _whiff_ of a Dungbomb, I'm comin' after you."

Harry's mouth was clamped shut, and he counted backwards from ten as Filch and Mrs. Norris left the Owlery. Cho looked on in sympathy at Harry.

"That was low, even for him," Cho said softly. She walked over to the window nearest to Harry, and held the school owl to the open sky. The brown owl pushed off and soared away. "He's just looking for a reason to get to you. I know how Umbridge was baiting you on Monday." At Harry's confused look, Cho shrugged. "Word spreads fast here, Harry. The thing is, she's trying to get you to snap." Cho placed a hand on his shoulder, and Harry looked at it, feeling his stomach lurch. Cho smiled at him. "Don't let her, Harry. No matter what. Don't give in."

She squeezed gently, and then blushed, dropping her hand to her side. "Uh," she began nervously, with a small smile, "see you later, Harry."

She took two steps backwards, waved, and then fled from the room. Harry stared after her for a moment before he leaned back against the wall, content to just sit in the silence of the moment. A smile spread across his face.

"See you, too, Cho."

--

"I can't _believe_ Umbridge won't let the Gryffindors play!"

News of the Gryffindors being unable to reform their team spread rapidly through the school, even before Cho had informed some of the Ravenclaws. However, once the clock had struck ten that morning, even the Slytherins in the dungeons had been informed of their rival team's woe. While the rest of the Slytherin team had gone to rub it in the faces of their classmates, Ryou, Yuugi, Kaiba, and Zabini had all remained in the fifth year dorm with Malfoy, who had taken the news rather badly.

Zabini winced, but patted the teen on the shoulder, sitting next to him on the bed. His dark eyes flashed over to where the other three were, Yuugi and Ryou sitting on the next bed over and Kaiba sitting once again in his chair, typing away at what the foreign wizard had called a _lap-top_, with which he controlled a vast amount of people. While Yuugi and Ryou both said there was more to it than that, Kaiba had said it was the simplest explanation and smirked at him.

Malfoy crinkled up another ball of paper and threw it across the room, and promptly lit it on fire with a flick of his wand, scowling. "I mean," he began, waving his wand arm over Zabini's head, "I'm not exactly Potter's greatest fan or whatever, but he's my only decent competition!"

Malfoy stood suddenly, and Zabini lurched due to the mattress's sudden shift. Malfoy began to pace the area between the two beds, and Yuugi and Ryou's eyes followed him. He turned on them, making them lean back and wince. "You two are in with Ishtar, who's in with Potter. What's _he_ have to say?"

Yuugi and Ryou glanced at one another before Yuugi rubbed the back of his head. "Well, Harry, of course, is taking all the blame onto his shoulders."

"Duh," Zabini offered from his seat. Malfoy rolled his eyes and said, "As he _should_, since it's _his fault_."

Yuugi frowned at the two of them before continuing. "And he's been kinda quiet since this morning." Yuugi twiddled his fingers, as if he was not sure how his next information was going to go over. Hesitantly, he looked up at the blond. "Uh, Marik thinks Harry might resign."

"_WHAT_?!"

Kaiba looked over the top of his laptop, while Malfoy stormed closer to Yuugi, snarling down at him, and Yuugi, impressively, met his gaze without wincing. "What do you mean," Malfoy said slowly, "that he might _resign_?!"

Kaiba smirked. "Well," he began, "Harry's going to take himself off the team."

"Shut it, Kaiba!" Malfoy snapped, gesturing his wand at the CEO without looking at him. Kaiba's face morphed into a look of great distaste, but his blue eyes followed the wand for several moments, and he did nothing more. Malfoy, not seeing Kaiba's face, continued to pace fiercely across the room.

"This is all that Umbridge woman's fault!" he said with a snarl, grabbing another sheet of parchment off his desk and crinkling in into a ball. He flung it across the room and lit it ablaze again. "All the other Slytherins seem to think she's wonderful, but…" Malfoy turned and began to kick his bed's leg with each word. "I. Really. Don't. Like. Her!" Malfoy growled low in his throat, stopping in his self-abuse. "She has to be some perverted, mutant Huffepuff. Definitely _not_ a Slytherin. Has no respect for his Laws. But then again," Malfoy went back to kicking the bed. "Neither. Does. Any. One. Else!"

Zabini sighed, standing up, and pushed him away from the bed before he could hurt himself. "Just to let you know, I think you've got my agreement on that," Zabini said. "She's been hounding me about a dinner-time announcement about my-" he held up his fingers in air quotes- "'possible endangering of all the students with my hormonal fluctuations'. I swear, she gets her jollies by making me miserable."

Malfoy exhaled, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. Finally, he pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders and adjusted the Prefect's badge that was pinned to his clothing. "I'm heading to the Great Hall to take points away from students. _Especially_ any Hufflepuffs. It'll make me feel better."

Malfoy then stormed out of the room, Zabini smiling awkwardly as the other three moved to follow. "Just, uh," he said, "don't get in his way. When he's like this, just, go along with it."

Yuugi frowned at him, but followed when Zabini turned and left nonetheless. "Does he get like this often?" he asked. Zabini shrugged, glancing over his shoulder.

"Eh," Zabini responded. "It varies. Normally he'll just go and chase the Snitch around the Pitch for an hour or so, but since this is Quidditch related…"

Yuugi winced. "Oh," he said. "So, he's just venting?"

Zabini nodded, catching sight of the edge of Malfoy's cloak a few paces ahead. "Yeah. You don't want to see him mad. He's got a nice arsenal of nasty hexes he likes to break out and test on whoever's nearby."

Ryou and Kaiba shared a glance, both raising their eyebrows. "So," the white-haired teen said to Zabini, "that'd be us?"

"You bet."

The group of four quickly caught up to Malfoy as he began to climb the stairs out of the dungeon. He led them towards the doors to the Great Hall, throwing them open, and just missed running straight into Harry and his own group of friends. The black-haired teen, his Firebolt in hand, blinked at Malfoy, and Malfoy could only stare back at him. Behind Harry, Ron made a low noise in his throat, a growl, and Ginny made a noise much like an angered cat. Hermione looked nervous, glancing around the Hall to see if anyone else was there who could assist her in stopping a brawl. Marik broke out into a large grin and flounced over to Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba.

"Hello men of Slytherin!" he looked over at Ryou, whose face morphed into a frown at the glance. Marik's face lit up in a brilliant smile. "And single she-male!" he said. Ryou scowled at him, cuffing him lightly upside the head, while Kaiba rolled his eyes. However, it did break the silence, and Harry's eyes narrowed instantly, as did Malfoy's.

"Malfoy," Harry said, tone on the verge of being insulting.

"Potter," Malfoy spat. He then leaned his head to the side slightly, and gestured to a spot just behind the door and out of sight of the Great Hall. "Come with me for a moment. I want to… _chat_."

Harry frowned at him, eyes scanning over his face. Both of the teens had their wands in their hands, waiting. Ron seethed in place, face turning red, and Ginny looked no better. Hermione stood in front of the two Weasleys, shooting them a narrowed glance. Zabini looked utterly unimpressed, and the Shadow Mages merely observed. Finally, Harry nodded.

"Fine," he said. Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Harry merely looked over at him. "Don't worry. We'll be just right here. You'll be able to see everything."

Then Harry handed his broomstick to Ginny. Ron remained uncomfortable, and Hermione already had her wand in her hand, and twisted it in her grasp. "We'll be fine. Right?" she asked Ginny, who rocked back and forth on her heels, clutching tightly to the Firebolt. Finally, both redheads nodded. Zabini took a few steps back, giving Harry enough space to pass through without touching him.

"I know Malfoy can handle anything Potter tries," the black teen sniped, placing his hands behind his back. "I believe in his abilities." He sneered at Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. "What does that say about you and Potter?"

Ron looked abashed, and Hermione lowered her wand. Zabini smiled at them condescendingly, but his own wand was hidden in the arm of his robe, ready for action. Yuugi and Marik both sighed, looking at one another in disbelief. Despite this, Harry and Malfoy both made a show of placing their wands in their cloak pockets, and walked over to the small alcove just out of hearing range of even Zabini's sensitive ears. Harry crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows.

"What?" he asked, looking around the small area. "You and I don't _have_ 'chats', Malfoy, unless it's to insult one another." His eyes widened, and what life had been in them died out suddenly and he turned his gaze away. "Alright, go for it," Harry snapped. "I know you've been _dying_ to tell me how much of a loser I am about the whole Quidditch Team thing."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him, and Harry peaked back up at him, confusion and weariness evident in his face. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Right topic, wrong conversation," the Slytherin said, and Harry returned his gaze to him. Malfoy gestured, smirking. "We already know you're a loser at Quidditch, so there's no need to reinforce it. What I wanted to talk to you about, however, is you _getting back on your damn team_."

Harry stared at him dully. "Excuse me?"

Malfoy huffed. "You heard me. I want your team back, and I want _you_ on it," he said. "Word's going around that you're planning on quitting." Malfoy reached forward and jabbed Harry in the chest, his grey eyes flashing. "You damn well better not," he hissed, "because you're the only Seeker in school who makes the game interesting. You quit, I have no competition. This means I'll have nothing to keep me occupied. And with nothing to keep me occupied, _I will make your life hell_."

Harry blinked a few times, looking at Malfoy over the tops of his glasses. "Are you _threatening me_ if I _don't_ get back on the team?"

Malfoy stared at him before nodding. "Yes."

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. He then looked back at Malfoy. "Normally, I wouldn't try to listen to you Malfoy, because you're a ferret-faced wanker. However," Harry said when Malfoy flushed pink and his mouth dropped open, "I promise I'll do what I can to get back on the team." His eyes narrowed behind his black-framed glasses. "I doubt it'll be enough, though."

Malfoy frowned at him. "I don't care. Just do it," he demanded.

Harry glared at him and said, "I hate standing here, listening to you. It's like I've been _Confunded_."

Malfoy scowled at him. "Trust me Potter, the thought that I actually _want_ something good to happen to you is enough to make me ill. However, it benefits me in the end, so that sweetens it."

"How?" Harry asked smugly, eyes narrowing. "You always lose."

Malfoy smirked at him. "Not always, Potter," he said. He then strode away, towards the Great Hall. "See you on the field, Potter. _Or else_."

He and Zabini disappeared through the door, and the Shadow Mages followed, including Marik, who gave them all a quick wave goodbye. Harry walked back to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who all looked both curious and furious. Ginny handed Harry back his broom, and Hermione watched him for a moment.

"Well?" she finally asked. Harry looked beyond her and at Malfoy, who had taken a seat at the Slytherin table, where Zabini was hounding him for information.

Harry shook his head. "He's Malfoy. What do you think we talked about? He threatened me," Harry responded. Ron attempted to turn around and go after Malfoy, but Harry caught his arm. "Let me explain before you storm over!" he said, and once Ron had calmed, he continued. "He told me to get the team back up, with me on it. Or else."

Ginny spun around, staring at the table, where Zabini had placed a hand over his face. Marik had a bewildered look on his face, but Yuugi was quickly explaining. "Was he drunk?" she asked, looking back at Harry. "I've heard things about what happens in the dungeons…"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. All I know is that I have _never_ felt so completely turned around in my _life_." He then smirked at Ginny, raising his eyebrows. "Well, forget about the bipolar bouncing ferret. You and I are off to do some Seeker drills."

Ron frowned, kicking at the floor. "Why _can't_ we watch again?" he whined. Hermione sighed.

"Because," she began, "Umbridge said 'groups of three or more'. If you or I go and watch, she might be able to call it a group larger than two. By it being just Harry and Ginny, we bypass the stupid rule completely, no risks."

Harry sighed at them. "Trust me," he said, "I'd rather you guys watch, but…"

Ginny shrugged, and took a few steps towards the exit. "We'd better go, before Umbridge comes through. She's been _everywhere_ today. I swear I saw her coming out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom earlier."

Ron looked aghast at the news their one-time hideout had been violated by the woman. "Is no place_ sacred_?!"

Harry chuckled morosely. "Probably not. Well, see you guys in a couple of hours."

"Alright Harry, see ya." "Don't stay out too, long."

Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ginny were both hovering on their brooms in the middle of the Pitch. Harry had a pail of walnuts looped around the end of his broomstick and he picked up two of them and began to juggle them.

"Now, since we don't have access to the _real_ Snitch, we'll be using these," he said, darting his hand down to add a third walnut to his juggling. "This has its advantages, and disadvantages. Now, they're not magical, so when they drop or are thrown, they won't dodge you. However," he caught two of the walnuts in one hand and held up the third to his eye, "they aren't shiny and sparkly like the Snitch, so you'll have trouble seeing them once I start chucking them all over."

Ginny watched him raptly, and Harry continued. "Later this week I'll go check out the library to see if I can find a spell to animate a few of these suckers for next time. For now, these'll do." he smirked, tossing one lazily into the air. "Here's a little rule that Oliver used with me when we worked with walnuts- they hit the ground, you have to eat them."

Ginny stuck out her tongue, disgusted, but made no other mention of disagreement. Harry snickered. "Ready? Go!"

For the first thirty minutes or so, Harry would throw two or three or even four walnuts around the pitch, and Ginny would have to find and catch them before they hit the ground. Once she could catch all four, they moved on to acceleration and deceleration drills, and, after an hour of that, finally turning in high speeds. It was then, after a total of two hours on the pitch, that Harry stopped for the day. As they were landing, Ginny turned to him, grinning.

"You know what Harry?" she asked, and when Harry looked over at her, she continued. "You're a _really good_ teacher." Harry flushed, beginning to shake his head, but Ginny merely smiled back at him. "No, really! You are. Charlie tried helping me out with this once, last summer, and it just didn't stick. But this?" She smiled at him. "It just does."

Harry ducked his head, smiling a little. "Thanks, Ginny."

They stepped into their respective changing rooms to wash up and change into cleaner clothing. Harry came out first, and waited outside the entrance to the woman's changing room for Ginny. As he was summoning the walnuts Ginny had allowed to hit the ground, he heard someone coming behind him, and glanced over his shoulder, to spy Cho Chang. He grinned at her, and went back to summoning.

"_Accio_ Walnuts!" he shouted while flicking his wand, and several small brown spheres flew towards him. He directed them into the second bucket, and they rained into it. He turned and smiled at the approaching Ravenclaw. "Hey!" he called. Cho's eyes brightened and she waved back, rushing the next few steps to get closer quicker.

"Hello, Harry," she said, smiling brightly. She looked down at the broom in Harry's hand and back up at him. "How did practice go?"

Harry smiled. "Pretty good, actually. Ginny's the backup Seeker. Ron's sister."

Cho nodded. "Oh, I know about Ginny," she said. "Michael Corner and her are dating, and he's quite fond of her. Talks about her a lot in the common room."

Harry blinked at her. "Ginny has a boyfriend?"

Cho blinked back at him. "You didn't know?" she asked.

"Uh, no," he said, feeling a bit annoyed with himself. How did he always manage to _miss these things_?! Sensing Harry's frustration, Cho flushed a little.

"O-oh, are you… interested in her?" she asked. Harry blinked rapidly before shaking his head.

"Wh-what? No, no!" Harry held up his hands. "She's like my little sister in a way."

Cho immediately relaxed, and Harry felt a flutter of hope in his stomach. Cho looked at him expectantly. "Um, y-you were talking about your practice?" she said.

Harry jolted, and was glad to get to a more comfortable conversation. "Oh, yeah. Ginny's our backup Seeker. She's built pretty decent- you've seen her, yeah? Could have gone for either Chaser or Seeker, but right now? I'm glad she chose Seeker."

Cho stared Harry's at sad eyes and she gave him a sad smile of her own. "You're not training a backup Seeker, are you?"

Harry chuckled, but there was no joy or humor in it. "No, I don't think I am."

"Oh, Harry…"

Harry rubbed the back of his head, sighing. "Not much I can do, though. I'm not going to drag the whole team down just to prove a point. They don't deserve that."

Cho nodded. "Oh, no," she said, "I understand. Does the rest of your team know?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I don't think they see any other way, either."

Cho reached over and took his hand, stroking it across the knuckles with her thumb. Harry looked down at it, blushing slightly. Cho smiled at him and said, "At least give it a couple of days before you resign. I mean, maybe if you prove you're not just going to quit, she'll let you stay."

Harry smiled at her, nodding. "Yeah, I think I'll do that." He squeezed her hand gently back, and the two of them let go, just as the door of the changing room opened, and Ginny stepped out. She blinked at the two of them and Harry's blushing face. The tips of her ears reddened, but she said nothing before held up her broom.

"Gotta lock it up," she said cheerfully. She grabbed the pail of recently summoned walnuts while Harry grabbed the one filled with the walnuts she'd managed to catch. She took Harry's sleeve in the hand that held her broomstick and dragged him towards the broom shed. Cho followed, and she and Harry exchanged embarrassed and bewildered glances. Ginny threw open the doors, placing her broom in its proper spot while Cho reached past her to take her Comet series broom. Ginny then closed the doors, and smiled a bit too brightly at Cho.

"Well, it's nice to meet you again!" she declared, and tugged Harry along. He smiled at Cho, blushing again.

"See you," he said. Cho waved at him.

"Bye!" she called after.

Once Ginny and Harry were far enough away that Cho had already gotten to the pitch and was starting to circle it, the redhead stopped. She glared at Harry, planting her hands on her hips and wincing when the pail of walnuts struck her thigh.

"What are you_ doing_?" she snapped. Harry blinked at her before frowning.

"I was _talking_," he said, eyes narrow. "Why? Did Umbridge make _that_ a crime, too?"

Ginny blinked at him, before she set her face into a scowl again. "No!" she said. "But Cho is a _Ravenclaw_. And not just any Ravenclaw, but the Ravenclaw _Seeker_." When Harry merely gave her a confused look, Ginny exhaled. "Plus, she's Cedric's girlfriend. Or," Ginny looked over at where Cho was now practicing Wronski Feints, "she used to be." Harry scowled at her, and Ginny continued, eyes narrowing. "_You_ were the last one to see Cedric. _You_ saw him die. She isn't after a new boyfriend, or someone to snuggle with. What she wants is _closure_." Harry looked away, glaring at the ground, lips pressed firmly into a line. Ginny sighed, reaching forward and placing her hand onto his shoulder. "Once she gets that, you two won't stay the cutesy-couple. I promise that."

Harry sighed, stepping away from Ginny's hand. He ignored the hurt look that flashed across Ginny's face, and stared after Cho, green eyes soft and clouded. "Even if that is the case, Ginny," he said, "if I can make _someone_ feel better about the whole ordeal… then I'm okay with it."

"Harry, please…" Ginny began, but Harry shook his head, smiling softly.

"No, Ginny. I like her," he said, raising an amused eyebrow when Ginny's jaw audibly clicked shut. "I'm not asking her to marry me," he said with a chuckle, "just to… hang out. In a… more than friends sort of way."

Ginny's jaw was beginning to grind, and her eyes had narrowed. Harry blinked at her a few times, absolutely perplexed by her. "Uh, Ginny?" he asked cautiously. "Is there something going wrong with you and Michael? You're dating _him_, and he's a Ravenclaw. Did he do something stupid?"

Ginny started. "How did you know about…?"

Harry smirked. "I just do. Now, is something wrong? Do I need to go smack him around or something?"

She exhaled sharply through her nose rolled her eyes, instantly losing all her tenseness, but her eyes were still flashing with annoyance. "No, Harry," Ginny grumbled, turning and around and leaving him behind, "nothing is wrong between us."

Harry watched her disappear towards the castle, and his jaw dropped. Once he had regained his composure, he stared after her, bewildered. "What was _that_ about?!"

--

Monday came too quickly for Harry, who was not looking forward to a day with both Snape and Umbridge. It was for that reason he spent most of that early morning sitting in the dark, enclosed space of his bed, meditating and clearing his mind, practicing his Occlumency. Once he felt as prepared for the day as he could, Harry ventured from the safety of his four-poster bed and down to the Common Room where Angelina and Katie both sat, looking miserable. They both turned their eyes on him at the same time, and Harry slouched a bit.

"No go?" he asked dully. They both shook their heads.

"No," Angelina said softly, "she still says she's not convinced that our team…" she looked over at Katie. "How did she say it?"

Katie's face flushed a bit red in anger as she straightened and began to gesture lavishly with her arms. "That our team," she began in a dreadful mockery of Umbridge, "contains _quality players_. That we chose more for _fame_ and _friends_ than for actual talent."

Harry's jaw dropped, and Angelina gave him a wicked smile. "I wanted to tell her to shove it up her arse, but I figured that'd be _counterproductive_."

Harry nodded weakly, suddenly feeling like he could use several more minutes of meditation. "Just a bit."

Katie smiled at him, nodding. "But, don't worry. We're not giving up yet, so you can't either."

Harry nodded and made his way towards the portrait hole, throwing his bag over his shoulder and taking his cauldron in his other hand. "Well," he said awkwardly, "I have to get down to breakfast. Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts today. Need to be well fed for the abuse."

Angelina smiled at him sadly. "Just," she began, pausing for a second before continuing, "don't let your anger get the better of you."

Harry chuckled nervously, looking out the portrait hole. "I promise to try," he said, and stepped out of the room.

Harry planted himself on the bench of the Great Hall, plopping his bag and cauldron beside him. He was the last one to join Hermione, Ron, and Marik at the table. Silently, he pulled a few pieces of toast off of the platter and onto his plate. Hermione and Ron looked at one another, raising their eyebrows, and back at Harry. Finally, Ron leaned over, nudging the other teen.

"Good morning, Harry," he said. Harry smiled at him, nudging him back.

"Morning guys," he said. Hermione gave him a concerned look.

"Harry, are you alright?" she asked. Harry nodded, glancing at her before turning back to his food.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I'm just getting ready for the day. It's going be a long one, so I'm trying to… _clear my mind of negative thoughts_."

Ron scowled at his plate, stabbing at the bits and pieces of food. "Good luck, mate."

Harry smiled weakly, and went back to breakfast. The rest of the meal went by quietly, and the march down the dungeon stairs afterwards even more so. As the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins surrounded the door, slowly trickling into the classroom, the Shadow Mages pulled themselves off to the side, waiting for the rest to head inside.

"Guys," Marik said, tapping the Necklace, "Umbridge is in there. _Right now_."

Yami fazed into sight just above Yuugi, his red eyes peering around the teen and into the classroom. "Why is she here?"

Kaiba looked at the group before rolling his eyes. "None of you can read, I gather?" he said.

Marik scowled, and Yuugi gestured to the steadily decreasing line. "Kaiba, please?"

Kaiba sneered at the group, obviously enjoying his moment of power. However, he reached into his bag and pulled out the most recent issue of the _Daily Prophet_. "I've been reading these since we came here, just to keep up on the news. Read the whole article when you have time," he snapped, shoving the paper into Yuugi's hands. The brunet continued. "Apparently, along with the ability to pass Educational Decrees and uphold their words, Umbridge also can inspect classes and their Professors."

Yami snorted, crimson eyes flashing. "And, obviously, since this is Harry's least-favorite class first thing…"

Ryou sighed, nodding. "She's coming here to really get to him." He looked at the rest of the group. "So," Ryou said, "what are we going to do?"

"Nothing we _can_ do," Yuugi admitted. "We've already got seats, and Marik is sitting with us." At Marik's confused glance, Yuugi explained, "Well, think about it. Marik's on her bad list, Harry's on her bad list. It's just too risky."

Marik snickered darkly, lavender eyes flashing. "Oh, she's going to come over to our table anyway," he declared as the group of four moved towards the doors. Yami frowned at him, and Marik held up his hands. "_I'm_ not going to do anything, but I bet she will. I am on her 'bad list', as you said."

Yami winced, a facial expression that Yuugi mimicked, and faded from view as they stepped through the door. The four walked over to a table next to Snape's desk at the front of the classroom, where Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba had stored their cauldrons before breakfast. Marik placed his cauldron on the table and sat down. As the group of four began to pull out their books, parchment, and quills, Snape burst through the door, a scowl on his face and black eyes scanning the room. He paused just before his desk, a cruel sneer on his face.

"Today, we have a… _visitor_," Snape said, looking pointedly at the dimmest corner of the class. As a whole, the group turned and spotted the short, pink-clothed figure of Delores Umbridge. She was sitting on a short stool, holding a quill and clipboard. Snape's dark eyes narrowed, and he turned and looked at the class once more.

"We will begin Strengthening Solutions today," the Potions Master declared, "for which the description is on page five-hundred eighteen." He waved his wand at the board, and the chalk began to write on the board. "Ingredients are on the board-" another flick of the wrist, and several jars and vials floated out of the cabinets and onto the small table beside his desk- "and on the table. Begin."

As the fifth-year students began to rush to start the complicated potion, Snape spun towards the group of second-year-level students. He gestured to the board with his wand again, and a second set of instructions appeared on the board. Snape's black eyes flicked over each of them before he sneered.

"Since the four of you passed your first year exam with _flying colors_, you are ready for the slightly less boring second year curriculum. You will create the Swelling Solution," he said. He waved his wand, and more ingredients came forth from the cabinets around the room. "Get to work."

While the class did work on their respective potions, they mostly kept their eyes on the two volatile Professors. Umbridge finally moved from her corner, and began to walk around the room, pausing beside each table and glancing at the cauldrons and carefully scribbling something down on her clipboard. Snape, however, completely ignored her and stormed around the dungeon, also looking down at potions and sneering at their owners. It was only when they accidentally crossed paths, in the middle of the room, that Umbridge addressed him directly.

"So," she began, trailing after him as he walked away from her and towards Malfoy's table, "you have fifth years already working on a Strengthening Solution?"

Snape paused, glancing over his shoulder and eyeing her through his greasy black hair. "Yes," he said, drawing out the word so he practically hissed. Umbridge smiled pleasantly at him, leaning over Zabini's cauldron, which was a bit too runny in comparison to Malfoy's perfect mixture.

"I'm not sure that such a potion should be allowed on a school curriculum," she said simply, scribbling something down. "I'm sure the Ministry would prefer to have it _removed_."

Snape did not bother to look at her. "_Really_?" he drawled, and walked away from her. Umbridge's eyebrow twitched, and she scurried after him.

"How long have you been teaching here?" she asked. Harry kept his head down, carefully picking up the ingredients to put into the potion. His green eyes darted upwards, though, when Snape looked over at her.

"Fourteen years," he said, but there was a dark look in his eyes that Harry got chills from just seeing. Umbridge nodded, and wrote it down. She flipped through some papers, and Harry took that time to glance over at the Shadow Mages. They were watching Umbridge as he was- between steps in the potion.

Umbridge looked up again, pointing to a piece of parchment. "It says here," she began, "that you applied for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position when you started working here."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all shared a surprised look. Snape paused fully, turning around and drawing himself to his full height, looking much more like a vampire about to strike. "That's correct."

"And, you didn't make it?" she asked, not unlike a child gloating about a new toy. Only one of Snape's eyebrows rose.

"Obviously," was all he drawled.

Harry watched as Snape turned around so his cloak billowed behind him and strode towards the Shadow Mages. They all quickly turned back to their potions. Umbridge paused behind Marik, tapping her quill against the board. The blond gripped his stirring rod tighter, and he ducked a bit in his chair. Yuugi looked ready to commit murder, his maroon eyes flashing. The candles around the room flickered a bit, and Umbridge backed away from the chair, looking slightly alarmed. Marik let out a small breath, and Yuugi settled once more, violet eyes watching Marik with concern. Umbridge straightened herself, and stood behind Ryou instead.

"You've applied for the position every year, and yet you've always been turned down. Correct?"

Snape's eyes narrowed, and he glared down his nose at the woman. "Indeed."

Umbridge followed him as Snape strode towards Harry's table, and the black-haired youth went back to his potion, feeling like someone had placed a bag over his head. Two people who hated him so much, standing right behind him…Their emotions were practically palpable, and it was smothering him. Harry took in a breath and focused on the potion.

"It makes you wonder," Umbridge was saying, "_why_ the Headmaster would be so… _wary_ about putting you in that position. _Especially_ since just this year there was _no one else_ to take it…"

Snape stared at Harry's cauldron, which was a bit too blue, and a bit too opaque. The teacher chose to say nothing, which surprised Harry, and turned to Umbridge. "Unfortunately, _I_ don't have that information. If you want to know, you'll have to ask the Headmaster himself."

Umbridge smiled at him. "Oh, I will," she admitted, placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and squeezed it, her fingernails digging slightly into his skin. And the black-haired teen froze.

Harry could not move. This woman, this pudgy, fat woman with large fingers was _touching him_ and he could _feel_ her hatred for him rolling off her in _waves_. It was so much like the Dursleys, like Uncle Dursley, like Aunt Marge. Suddenly, he was seven again and the hand on his shoulder was connected to a thick arm that led towards a purpled face with a large black mustache, and the fingers were squeezing tighter and tighter, and '_oh God, I'll go to my cupboard, I'll be quiet, just please don't hurt me, I promise I didn't mean to turn it blue, I swear, I'm sorry_…'

Then the hand let go and Harry fought the urge to curl forwards and duck his head down to make himself a smaller target, as he had when he was younger. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Umbridge walk away, scribbling on her clipboard, and question Theodore Nott about the lessons. He turned back around, and reached out with an only slightly shaking hand to add three frog eyelashes to the mixture.

However, Harry felt someone's eyes on him, and he darted a glance over, and spotted Snape staring at him, which made the teen freeze once more. Snape's face was carefully blank, but his eyes were narrow and dark, and in those depths Harry could see something stirring that he had never seen before, something he could not identify. Harry turned away and back to his potion, worried about what Snape would see in _his_ eyes- the usually hateful glare of a fifteen-year-old, or the scared, wounded gaze of a seven-year-old…

--

Harry still was not talking.

Normally, Marik wouldn't have noticed if Harry was feeling chatty or not, but ever since that odd display in Potions, where the black-haired teen had frozen, gone pale, and _flinched_ when Umbridge touched him, it was hard not to look at him to make sure he was okay. Moreover, Marik was not the only one to notice. The whole class had seen it, which included the Slytherins, and suddenly the word in the halls was that Harry Potter was terrified of Umbridge. The only non-Shadow Mage Slytherins who weren't taking part in the gossip was Malfoy, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott, although the last three were mostly because they really didn't care enough than because Malfoy wasn't. Malfoy just disliked Umbridge, and wanted nothing to do with her.

Marik shot Harry another glance, and saw Ron do so as well. Apparently, like some sort of bad penny, Umbridge had turned up in Harry's Divination class and barely left his side the whole hour. At least, that was what the redhead was telling Hermione. He listened closer to what the two were saying, hoping to catch something that might help.

"It was sad stuff, Hermione," Ron was whispering as the Gryffindors made their way towards the Defense room. "Umbridge was all over Trelawney. Finally, the old pink toad asked her to predict something, and Trelawney just _stopped_, like she couldn't believe what she'd heard." Ron paused, and Marik looked at them out of the corner of his eye as the redhead continued. "After a bit of goading, Trelawney just _snapped_! She grabbed the crystal ball off our table, and just stared at it. For, like, five minutes. Then, she spun around, pointed at Umbridge, and said," Ron paused and pulled himself up, pulling his arms close to his chest and wiggling his fingers at Hermione, "'I see danger for you! A paladin will descend upon you, dressed in orange and red! Be very careful, for you are in grave peril!'" Ron snickered into his hands. "It was ridiculous. Really it was. Umbridge was all, 'Is that so?' and she just wandered off."

Hermione smiled a little at the redhead's tale, but her worried eyes eventually twitched over to Harry, who walked a few paces to their left, head low and eyes staring blankly ahead. There was a line between his brows- obviously, he was thinking. Hard.

"Harry," Hermione said, trying to get him into the conversation, "what happened next?"

The teen was silent for a few moments, and then he blinked, turning and looking at Hermione. "Hmm?" he asked, looking as though he had just awoken from a nap. Hermione looked at him with concerned brown eyes.

"You've been out of it for hours, Harry. Ever since Potions when she touched you." Hermione leaned her head to the side, frowning. "Did she… do something to you?"

Harry shook his head, but his eyes darkened immediately. "No, just… reminded me of a _similar_ situation." At their concerned looks, Harry waved them off. "I'm fine, really. I'm just… thinking about things. Quidditch, homework, that sort of stuff."

Hermione looked him over, still frowning. Ron smiled at him, reaching over and laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's just because we care, mate. We worry about you, but you'll be fine. You always are," Ron said, nodding. Harry grinned at him, but slid out from under the touch.

"Thanks."

Hermione paused, biting her lip before turning and looking at Harry, Ron, and even giving Marik a quick glance to let him know he, too, was included. "I'm going to do something in class today," she said softly. "Nothing… _too_ out of character. I'm not walking out, but…" she straightened herself, "I may get into trouble. _Don't_ rescue me. Any of you. No matter what she says."

Harry was scowling and Ron looked ready to argue. Marik sighed, nodding. This drew the other two teen's attention, and Marik spoke, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Hermione smiled, shaking her head. "I have a plan, it's a poor one, but I have to do this."

Ron fidgeted, looking uncomfortable, and Harry gritted his teeth. They both nodded hesitantly, and Hermione beamed at them. "Thank you," she said. "I promise, it'll make sense when I start. Just _stay out of it_."

They entered Umbridge's classroom without another sound, for the feeling of repression smothered all noise and joy out of the students. Marik immediately pushed himself next to Harry, and moved the two of them to the second-to-last desk in the back. Harry took the seat closest to the wall, and Marik had the aisle seat. Ron and Hermione, however, took the frontmost, farthest right seat they could get. The class pulled out their books and flipped open to the next section, staring dully at the pages.

Except for Hermione. She sat straighter in her chair, arms folded neatly on the table, and she stared straight at the staircase that led to the Professor's office. When the door behind them opened and admitted Professor Umbridge, the girl kept her gaze completely forward. Umbridge walked down the aisle on the left, pausing next to Marik and Harry's desk. She looked at them, simpering, and Marik wanted to send her to the Shadow Realm.

"Good afternoon, children," she said. The class, save Hermione, all mumbled back a dejected and dull response. Umbridge did not seem to notice. "Today we will be reading chapters seven through nine. There will be no need for wands _or_ talking. Please begi-"

Hermione's hand shot into the air before Umbridge could finish, and all eyes turned towards the young brunette. The Professor smiled at her and walked closer to her. "Yes, Miss Granger?" she asked softly, unwittingly drawing more attention to her.

Hermione looked at her with a calculating gaze. When Umbridge paused by the left side of her desk, Hermione dropped her hand and smiled a little. "I've already read those three chapters," she admitted. "I've read the whole book."

Hermione looked over Umbridge's shoulder at Harry with a quick, firm glance, but returned to the woman's face just as fast. Umbridge's eyebrows rose and she leaned her head to side slightly. "Have you?" she asked. "Then you won't mind telling me what Slinkhard has to say about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen."

Hermione smiled pleasantly at her. "Slinkhard believes that the name 'counterjinx' is inappropriate. He believes all counterjinxes are merely jinxes with a nicer name." Umbridge nodded a little, but Hermione's lips twitched. "But I disagree with him."

Umbridge's own lips twitched, but not in the amused, satisfied way Hermione's had. "Oh?" she said simply. Hermione nodded.

"I do, Professor," she said in a carrying voice. The rest of the class paused in their reading to look over at the two of them, much to Umbridge's displeasure. Hermione continued. "Mostly because counterjinxes are spells used to remove a jinx's effects from someone, like _Rennervate_, or _Reparo_. Why would those be called 'jinxes', especially since they are so useful in our everyday lives?" Hermione shook her head, and turned her bright brown eyes upon Umbridge. "Professor, maybe _you_ could explain it to me. Certainly none of my previous Professors or our last textbooks gave me any clue."

Marik grinned widely, shaking his head. "That girl… she's a Lion with wings _and_ scales," he said softly. Harry snickered beside him.

"She's great, isn't she?"

Umbridge looked flustered for a moment and looked around the classroom from student to student, all awaiting her explanation. Umbridge drew herself upwards, all five-foot-four of her, and stared down at Hermione, whose expression was completely innocent.

"Miss Granger," Umbridge said in a careful voice, "for asking inappropriate questions and attempting to win favor with a teacher through gloating about reading ahead, I will be taking fifteen points from Gryffindor."

The Gryffindors began to make noise at the outrage, and the Hufflepuffs all were looking at one another in confusion. Marik ground his teeth together, Ron's face flushed red, and Harry was almost out of his seat before he noticed something.

Hermione looked decidedly smug, like the cat who had not only eaten the canary, but also successfully placed the blame on the dog. She looked away from Umbridge and pulled out her textbook and a vial of blue ink and a quill, and set about scribbling notes in the margins in her book. Umbridge stared at her, a vaguely puzzled expression on her face, before turning a way and heading towards her desk.

"And as for your other Professors," Umbridge began, and the whole class looked back up at her, even Hermione, "I doubt any of them would have passed a Ministry inspection, as none of them taught at a level which was appropriate for their age, and you were taught spells that were far too _dangerous_ for any student to know." Umbridge paused, glancing over at Harry, whose face was carefully blank. She smirked. "And one of your teachers was, himself, a _Dark Creature_."

The entire class darkened in that one instant and Dean Thomas opened his mouth to argue, but Seamus Finnegan elbowed him, giving him a sharp look. Umbridge did not seem to care. Harry began to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth, but his eyes were like pools of green fire and looked as dangerous as the similarly colored Killing Curse. Umbridge smiled at them, though, and continued.

"The only one of your Professors who could have passed was Professor Quirrell, for he seemed to have kept his subjects closer to your age level…"

Marik's hand was instantly in the air, and Harry once again looked ready to murder someone. The black-haired teen pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, as if using it like a gag. Umbridge looked at Marik, as if wondering if it was worth the risk to call on him. Deciding it was, she smiled at him.

"Mister Ishtar?" she asked. "You have something to add?"

Marik nodded, dropping his hand. Hermione was shaking her head and mouthing the word 'no' to him. Marik ignored her. "Professor, wasn't Professor Quirrell the one who tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone? I wasn't here at the time, so I'm not sure…"

Umbridge's face fell, and the class snickered. She snarled at Marik, who sat patiently, waiting for her answer. She turned away and composed herself before walking calmly back to her desk. She looked at Marik with slightly narrowed eyes. "Another five points from Gryffindor for yet _another_ pointless question."

Marik smirked at Harry. The teen looked a healthier shade and already had his book open, and was scribbling something in its the margins. Marik leaned over, trying to get a better look, and Harry snickered at him, sliding the book away. "Get your own notes," he whispered. Marik stuck out his tongue, and went back to his own book.

--

Harry had been expecting to see Umbridge in both History of Magic and Herbology on Tuesday, but was pleasantly surprised to find her missing. According to Yuugi, she decided to hound the Slytherins' Charms and Ancient Ruins classes. However, the calm that had come over him after two pink-free lessons was evaporated when he, Hermione, Ron, and Marik followed the Ravenclaws into the Transfiguration classroom, and spotted Umbridge sitting in the back left corner, watching the students enter the room.

Hermione snagged Harry's arm and pulled him to the farthest desk they could get, which was three from the front and on the other side of the room. Marik and Ron took the table next to theirs. The redhead looked excited, blue eyes bright and a mischievous grin on his face.

"This'll be good," Ron said. "After what Ryou told us about how McGonagall and Umbridge fought over the _Sanguis Quill_? Oh man!"

Harry looked heartened by this, and grinned across Hermione and the aisle at Ron. "This could be pretty good," he admitted, and Hermione shook her head.

"You two," she grumbled, "Professor McGonagall is _not_ going to have a fight in the middle of class with her. Not when Umbridge has all the power. We have to be… _sneaky_ about how we defy her."

Ron scowled at the word, and Marik smirked at him, nudging him in the side, before addressing Hermione and Harry. "Weasley doesn't _have_ a sneaky bone in his body. Too Slytherin for him." Marik then looked straight at Ron. "I think your sister is the most Slytherin of your whole family," Marik declared. Ron seethed, ears reddening.

"Shut it!" Ron snapped, glowering. "My sister is _not_ Slytherin. At all!"

Marik shrugged, patting him on the shoulder. "A little bit of subterfuge is necessary now and again, Weasley."

Ron refused to even look at him.

The doors swung open behind them, and Professor McGonagall walked into the room, giving Professor Umbridge a quick glance before striding up to the front of the room. "Class," she said, and silence fell over the room. "Now, which of you wants to hand back homework, and who wants to hand out mice?" Harry raised his hand, and, across the room, Seamus Finnegan did as well. McGonagall nodded. "Alright. Mister Finnegan, please pass back homework. Mister Potter, take the mice. Oh, and don't give one to Mister Ishtar. He's not at our level yet. In fact, Mister Ishtar," she called out, and Marik looked up at her, "please read on in _The Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_. You know the sections."

Harry quickly retrieved a large box full of white mice while Seamus took a large stack of papers. They began at opposite ends of the room, pointedly ignoring each other. As was usually the case, the animals were completely conscious and moving as Harry handed them to people. Harry had no problems with mice, so it was amusing to watch the others try to deal with them. Lavender Brown shrieked when her mouse darted towards her, and her partner, Parvati Patil, quickly subdued it with a Stunning Spell.

"_Hem, hem,_" Umbridge said from her corner, but the class ignored her as their papers were handed back.

Marik took out his book and notes, looking over the second-year portions. Ron glanced at it wistfully. "If I had those notes when _I_ was in my second year, I think I would've done a lot better in this class."

Marik snickered, looking at him. "Ryou and Kaiba are great at taking notes. Kaiba because he runs his own business and has to look for quick ways to say big things, and Ryou because… well, he's just smart. Yuugi and me are quick to pick up new stuff, though. We're _adapters_."

Ron sighed again, and Hermione leaned over to see what they were talking about. Taking pity on her, Marik slid the notebook across the table. Hermione smiled at him and picked it up, leafing through it.

"Wow," she said under her breath, "this is rather well done." She passed it back to the blond. "There are a few protection spells on it," she said, raising an eyebrow. Marik grinned.

"Yup," he admitted. "First thing Ryou and Mokuba did was find a Copying Spell to copy the words to a couple different notebooks, and place a few anti-smudge and anti-tear charms on them." Marik grinned. "Mokuba's in with a few Ravenclaws, you see, and they knew all the right spells. 'Cause in anyone would, it'd be the Eagles."

Hermione looked impressed, nodding a little. "You'll have to show me them sometime," she said. Marik nodded.

Seamus passed them, placing Marik's paper face down on the desk, and placing another in front of Ron. Marik eagerly flipped over the page and grinned, leaning back in his seat. His essay on why it was easier to transfigure things into objects of similar size and shape had scored him a nine out of ten. He had to remember to thank Mokuba for the help on it. Ron sighed, leaning back in his chair. He grinned at Hermione.

"Got an A," Ron chirped, and Hermione beamed at him.

"Wonderful, Ron!" she whispered, giving Harry a smile as he passed by with their mice. "But I know you can do better. We'll work on it," she said. Marik merely looked confused.

"A?" he asked. "I don't have a letter, just a number."

Hermione smiled at him. "We're being graded at O.W.L. standard now. Top grade is O, then E, then A, P, D, and finally T."

Marik frowned at them. "I like my numbers more," he admitted. Hermione only smiled.

Harry finally returned to his seat, cradling a white mouse in his hands. Still holding the mouse in one hand, he turned his facedown essay over, and glanced casually at his paper, which had a large red E across the top of it. He blinked at it a few times before he nearly dropped the mouse and made a pitiful choking noise. Hermione blinked at him and then at his essay. She gasped, smiling up at him.

"Oh, well done, Harry!" she said. "I _told you_ that was a wonderful thesis statement! And the arguments you had… I'm so proud, Harry!"

Harry smiled weakly at her, unable to do much else. He cupped the mouse closer to his chest and scanned over the essay with his eyes. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Now, all of you have managed to vanish the majority if not all of your snails. This is good enough for now, because snails allow you to get a feel for the wand movements and the incantation. With mice-"

"_Hem_,_ hem_," Umbridge coughed, and Professor McGonagall turned and looked at her.

"Is there something you need?" she asked, and, although her tone was less than pleasant, her eyes were bright. Umbridge tapped on her clipboard.

"Just to be sure, you have _just started_ vanishing mammals, correct?" Umbridge asked.

McGonagall nodded. "Indeed, and could you refrain from interrupting me in the future, High Inquisitor? You see, I do not allow interruptions while I teach, and I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea if I let you do so."

Umbridge's eyes widened comically, and she scrunched down on her stool, scribbling away. McGonagall turned away and back to her class, gesturing to several things on her blackboard. "Because a mammal has many more bones and structures within it, it will be far harder for you to Vanish it in comparison to the snail. However, I trust in your abilities. Show me what you can do."

Harry set the mouse on his desk, and the creature looked up at him, blinking. One white and pink ear twitched as Harry lifted his wand. The green-eyed teen stared down at the creature and twisted his wrist.

"_Evanesco_!"

--

"I can't believe you two managed to Vanish half of your mice already!" Ron said, staring at Harry and Hermione with absolute awe while the three of them ate dinner at the Gryffindor table, Marik having left them for the Slytherin side. "I could barely get the darn thing's _tail_ to go away!" He looked at Harry, hope in his eyes. "Harry, you've _got_ to tell me how you got so good at it!"

Hermione looked over at Harry as well, placing her fork on her plate. "Actually, I'm quite interested as well. I mean, no offense Harry, but last year you weren't so…"

Harry snickered. "Apt? Smart? Intelligent?" At Hermione's light flush, Harry shook his head. "I just… over the summer, there wasn't…" Harry paused, setting his fork down. Hermione and Ron both looked pale and stricken. Harry, however, continued. "I had _so much time_, to do nothing but _sit_ and _think_… and I didn't want to. I… couldn't," Harry said. He smiled sadly at the two of them. "So I just… buried myself in the textbooks." Harry shrugged, smirking a bit. "Now, I just… do the same thing. And with Quidditch like it is…"

As if summoned by the mere word, Angelina and Katie both walked over to the trio at the edge of the table, looking put out. Harry could already see Angelina's answer in her eyes.

"No?" he said.

"Right again, Harry," Angelina said, dropping into a seat beside him, and Katie followed suit. The Quidditch captain placed her hand under her chin. "I have half a mind to go to McGonagall about it, but I don't think there's anything _anyone_ can do. I mean, Umbridge has the whole _Ministry_ backing her." Angelina shook her head, looking at her hands. "I just… don't know what to do."

Harry looked at her, biting his lip a little. Katie saw this and shook her head, frowning. "Oh no," she said simply, "you don't get to give up yet. _We're_ not giving up yet." She looked at Angelina whose eyes were bright once more. "We'll go after her a bit rougher tomorrow, that's all."

Harry shook his head, spearing a few pieces of meat with his fork. He decided that there was still a chance for him to play. Maybe the two girls could fix it after all. Maybe they just needed more time. However, when the next day arrived and the girls actually had ten points taken away for attempting to argue their stance, Harry knew there was no other option. It was either him, or the whole team.

Thursday morning at six, Harry found himself standing outside Professor McGonagall's office, dressed in his school uniform and head held high. He exhaled softly, and tapped his knuckles on the door. Several seconds later, McGonagall, dressed in her emerald green robes and her black hair pulled back tight, opened the door and looked down at Harry.

"Mister Potter?" she enquired, confusion evident in her face. "What in Heavens are you doing here?" Harry smiled at her as she stepped aside to allow him entrance. She stared at Harry as he took a seat, and quickly took the other behind her desk. "Is there something wrong?"

Harry sighed, looking at her for a moment before he leaned back. "I'm resigning from the Quidditch team," he said at last. McGonagall paused, swallowing thickly, and Harry nodded. "I'm sure you've heard that Umbridge isn't going to let us reform, right?" At her nod, Harry continued. "So, I'm just going to get it over with. Ginny's pretty good, I've been giving her some one-on-one lessons throughout the week."

McGonagall looked saddened by the news, but not surprised. She leaned back in her own chair, fingers steepled on her desk. She sighed at him. "I'm sorry, Potter, that I couldn't do anything. I'd asked Headmaster Dumbledore if he could, but this new decree gives Madam Umbridge all the power over it."

Harry's face had darkened for a moment when the Headmaster was mentioned, but cleared soon after. He nodded, shrugging a little. McGonagall ducked behind her desk, pulling a tin of cookies out of one of her drawers. She placed it in front of Harry, and then pulled out another sheet of paper, which Harry recognized as the official Gryffindor Quidditch roster. He could see his name on it, looking like someone had traced it with a golden, glittery highlighter. Ginny's was just beneath his. McGonagall spread it out on her desk, and gestured to the tin. "Take a biscuit, Potter. I know it's rather early, but for some reason I think you need one."

Harry chuckled sadly, and pulled open the tin. He took a Ginger Newt, and gnawed on it, waiting. McGonagall quickly took her quill and crossed out his name on the long list with a swift stroke, no hesitation. His name faded from the parchment, and Ginny's name shifted upwards, and was at once highlighted as his had been. Harry felt a sting of disappointment and regret, and he bit down harder on the newt-shaped cookie. McGonagall put the paper away and looked at him.

"Why did you come to me, Mister Potter? I'm sure you could have waited for Miss Johnson…"

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think she would have come to you. Not for awhile, anyway."

McGonagall chuckled. "Gryffindors are notoriously stubborn. Well," she said, rising, and Harry did so too, "I suppose I'd better get this to Umbridge, so she sees she's won. And _you_ have a team to inform."

Harry smiled at her, but the idea of telling his teammates had caused some of the color to drain from his face. "Professor," he began, "if Snape- er, _Professor_ Snape talks about me not being in class… make sure I'm alive?"

McGonagall smiled at him. "Of course," she said.

The two then left her office together. Harry started to leave as McGonagall turned to lock the door, the roster rolled tightly under one arm. She tapped her wand to the surface and spun around. "Potter!" she called.

Harry stopped, looking back at her. McGonagall offered him a small smile. "I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of your progress in Transfiguration, in comparison to last year." Harry blushed rapidly, and McGonagall smirked. "Your father was quite adept at Transfiguration, too. Was his best subject. Your mother took more to Charms, and had a certain knack for Potions." She gave him a wry grin. "You take after your father in more than looks alone, Mister Potter. Good day."

With that, she turned on her heel and marched away, leaving Harry gaping after her. He blinked rapidly, and took several seconds to compose himself. His father had been good at Transfiguration? Harry grinned weakly, running a hand through his hair. Of course, this thought inevitably led to the next- his father had also been very good at Quidditch. And Harry began to walk again.

Harry frowned, rubbing his hands, feeling the calluses caused by not only his life before Hogwarts by working for his aunt and uncle, but by Quidditch, his broomstick. It was the only time he truly felt like he could forget the world around him. And now? It was all over. He scowled, clenching his fists tight. If _any_ of them thought he was taking this lightly…!

He felt like he was walking into a trap. Ron would stand by Harry, though, the raven-haired teen thought. The rest of the team would not be pleased with his 'sudden' quitting. Ginny was going to be doubly upset with him, because she would be forced into a position she truly was not ready for. Angelina and Katie… they probably would not speak to him for going over their heads like that. Fred and George would probably blame Umbridge- as they should- and take it out on her. Speaking of the pink toad, _she would_ be intolerable today. Maybe Snape would be less-awful, since Harry doubted it was going to be an easy time finishing his Strengthening Potion. Then there was Malfoy, who would hunt him down as soon as word got out…

Harry paused in the middle of the hallway, leaning against the nearby wall. There was not much he could do about it. He would cross those hurdles as they came. Now, however, he had to deal with the first of them.

Telling the team.

--

Ginny would not even look at him. She refused to even listen to his explanation beyond the initial reveal, and steadfastly ignored his existence all day. Angelina and Katie had indeed stopped talking to him, but they were less hostile when a missive arrived, stating they were cleared to reform the team. Fred and George had dropped a dose of the work-in-progress 'Fever Fudge' into Umbridge's cup during their class. Apparently, there had been an unforeseen problem, for she had been unable to sit down for the duration of the class, and even at that moment, during dinner, had remained standing.

Harry poked around his meal for a few more moments before he set his fork down, glancing at Ron and Hermione. He nudged them a little, and they gave him a questioning glance. Harry nodded towards the exit, and Ron gave his dinner a longing glance before he rose along with Harry and Hermione. The three of them quickly fled the Great Hall, and went to the now-empty common room.

Once they were safely away from the portrait hole, Harry sat them down and stared at them, looking uneasy. Hermione placed her hands in her lap, waiting. Ron, however, was not so patient.

"So, what's going on mate?" Ron asked. Harry seemed to come back to himself, and he smiled at them.

"Okay, you're going to call me crazy," he admitted, which made Hermione look even more nervous, "but hear me out, okay?"

Hermione frowned at him, but nodded. Ron just looked eager to hear it. Harry smiled at them and nodded before he began to pace in front of the fireplace. "You remember how… out of it I've been lately?" At their nods, he continued. "I was thinking about something. More than just Quidditch." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "This year is the most important year of our lives, and not because of O.W.L.s," Harry said, and Hermione looked suspicious of him. "It's because we have a _real_ danger out there. Voldemort is back, and no one at Hogwarts will be prepared to protect themselves with our current teacher."

Hermione frowned at him. "Harry, there's nothing we can do, though. We can't have her removed, we have no proof besides your word that You-Know-Who has returned, and we can't form a Defense Against the Dark Arts club with Umbridge's new decree! She'd never allow it!"

Harry's grin grew, and his green eyes became brighter. Hermione gasped, and Ron looked between the two, confused. Hermione shook her head. "No, Harry. That's against the rules…!"

"So?" Harry demanded, a flare of frustration rising within him. "I'd rather be tossed out than not do anything. I'd rather watch my wand get snapped in half for doing something than know I _could have tried_ and did nothing."

Hermione twisted her hands, gnawing on her lower lip, while Ron shook his head. "What are you two going on about?"

Hermione looked at him. "Oh, open your ears!" she cried, and Ron blinked at her. Hermione gestured to Harry before speaking in a soft voice, "He wants to start up an illegal Defense Against the Dark Arts club!"

Ron frowned, looking between the two. He then shrugged. "How do we do it?"

Hermione looked scandalized. "Ron!"

"Hermione!" Ron mocked. She gaped at him, and Ron softened his tone. "Look, Harry's right. And he'd be the one to know, wouldn't he?"

Hermione looked at the floor. "I just… we've got enough to worry about as it is…"

Harry shrugged a bit. "Not for me anymore. I don't have Quidditch practice to deal with, and I have a rather light workload. Face it, Hermione," Harry tapped his chest, "_I_ have the least to worry about." He paused. "Not counting the whole Voldemort thing, of course." '_Not that anyone is_ letting _me worry about it_,' he added, bitterly, in his mind.

Hermione stared at him. She sighed and leaned back against the red cushions. "Fine," she said softly, and Harry's eyes brightened. Ron grinned. She slouched. "What's your plan?" she asked.

Harry pulled a footstool over and sat on it in front of them. "I have plenty of ideas, but I need you two to get people who you know are _trustworthy_. People who won't rat us out to Umbridge." Harry snagged his bag from where he dropped it onto another chair. He pulled a small blue pouch out of it, and it clanked and clinked. He opened it and pulled out two Knut-sized, metal, black coins. He gave one each to Hermione and Ron. "Give them one of these and _only_ one. It's their ticket to join, so I know who you actually talked to. Oh, and keep those ones for yourselves."

Harry pushed the blue pouch to Ron and pulled a similar-sized red one to Hermione. They eyed it in quiet awe. Ron looked over at him. "How'd you make these?" he asked. Harry smirked.

"Transfigured some black spiders and beetles into coins. Dobby really helped," Harry said with a shrug. Ron gave a squeak and dropped the coin and the pouch into his lap, and closed his eyes, whimpering. Hermione rolled her eyes, poking his shoulder.

"Ronald, they are _not_ going to bite you now," she said, and Ron merely whimpered and whined a bit more. She looked over at Harry. "You have gotten better at Transfiguration," she said, smiling. Harry grinned at her.

"It's nothing," he said, blushing. "So, anyway," he cleared is throat and Ron looked over at him, fingers still twitching. "After you give them the coin, tell them to meet us at the Hog's Head Pub at noon during the first Hogsmeade trip. And don't double check with me before you give out a coin," Harry said. "If _you_ trust them, that's good enough for me."

Hermione eyed the bag again before nodding, sighing. "I won't lie and say I think this is a good idea, but I don't see any other option. Alright," she said. "We'll do it."

Ron held the bag by the tips of his fingers away from him, and the coin with the other hand. Despite this, he managed to look severe when he turned to Harry. "What about Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba?" he asked.

Hermione frowned at the last name, but Harry looked at Ron. "I know you don't like them, Ron… but…"

Ron sighed, nodding. "Okay. I'll give some to Mokuba to give to them. Besides, the kid might be able to give us some Ravenclaw names. He's close with Boot's brother, so he knows a few."

Harry nodded, and pulled out a yellow pouch that looked like it was filled with the same coins. "I'll try with the Hufflepuffs through Ernie, since they seem to like me."

Hermione nodded, looking at her own red bag. She smiled. "I guess I'll go with the Gryffindors."

Harry grinned at the two of them. "I can't thank you guys enough. Really. So, just give a coin to people and tell them to meet at the Hog's Head pub. I've got the rest handled."

The three put their pouches into their bags and talked for a while longer about nothing, everything, and anything in between. As had become usual, they were the last ones to get to their dorm rooms that night. In addition, for the first time in a long while, Harry did not dream of corridors and locked doors.

--

**AUTHOR NOTES**: Sorry for the long delay, everyone. Been enjoying my winter break, but now school has begun again, so you can expect updates more regularly. XD This is a very Harry-oriented chapter, and very book-based, too. I originally thought this was going to be a short chapter, but… well, not so much, huh? XD

Umbridge vs. Snape was one my absolute favorite portions of the book and movie. The "Obviously" line is used in both, so if felt wrong to not have it here. XD

The whole jinxes/counterjinxes thing from that part of the book really confused me. Counterjinxes _remove_ the affects of jinxes. Why should they be called jinxes in the first place? I actually had to write out my own definitions of the differences between jinxes, counterjinxes, hexes, curses, and countercurses just to keep it all straight. XD

**HEY! NEWS ALERT!** Hey guys, I want you to know that there's a forum on for YGOHP crossovers called 'The Hogwarts Library'. If you find that, there's a thread just for this fanfic there. I hope you'll check it out and come talk to me there. :D **!TRELA SWEN !YEH**

**CHAPTER TITLE**: REGINA - _Queen_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ The beginning of Harry's escapade into the life of crime and villainy! Or, Harry starts up an illegal club by using very Slytherin ways. Also, MAIL CALL!_


	17. Seditio

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**ADDITIONAL CHAPTER WARNING  
****THERE IS A SCENE THAT MIGHT BE A BIT DISTURBING TO SOME READERS DUE TO GORE. JUST LETTING YOU KNOW.**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

--

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:  
****SEDITIO**

--

_**Last Time**_**:**_ Harry had to resign from the Quidditch team. Now he's out to get revenge in a very… different way. _

--

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you were able to get this quickly, but knowing Severus I have my doubts. You are probably surprised to find this letter tucked into your essay he returned, but of all the teachers, Severus would be the last one Umbridge would suspect us to send a letter with. It was either this, or Sirius was going to use the fireplace. Luckily, I caught him before it came to that. By the way, very clever code. I was baffled by Sirius's name at first. However, he knew exactly what you meant _immediately_. Well done. However, it's best that you don't send us any more letters, due to the fact that some rather nasty hawks have been recently spotted over Hogsmeade. We think they might be Umbridge's, which she'd use to catch owls leaving Hogwarts and check through the mail. This means we won't be able to send Hedwig back by the normal means, unfortunately, but she's safe._

_You were right in thinking that we'd heard about Marik, Kaiba, Mokuba, Yuugi, and Ryou. We're all pretty surprised that Yuugi and Ryou are in Slytherin, but we didn't know them for that long, so maybe it makes more sense than we think. Give Marik a chance to get used to you. Remember, he's been thrown into a whole new world, where he doesn't have his normal friends with him all the time. I'm sure he's warmed up to you by now, though. Just don't be too difficult. Oh, and Sirius says to just let Kaiba and Hermione fight it out. That's what it came to between your father and your mother just before they dated. They had bring in a few professionals from the Ministry to make the wallpaper stop shooting fire at anyone who passed (your mother's work), and I think they had to replace that side table that your father half-transfigured into a tiger. Who knows? Maybe in a few years time we'll have a Mrs. Hermione Kaiba._

_Ah, Deloris Umbridge. She's a _wonderful_ woman- very against werewolf rights and half-humans in general. A few years back, she introduced some legislature that makes it hard for werewolves to get a job. So you can see where I may have a slight problem with her. She loves to create new laws as long as they give her power and take it from others, no matter whom or what it hurts. Be careful around her, Harry. She isn't going to just take your Quidditch position next time. And the quill- just watch yourselves and make sure you take any findings to McGonagall or Albus. Even if they can't get rid of her, they can make sure she doesn't use any illegal items on you._

_By the way, Sirius wants to know if he needs to come down there and 'show' her what illegal items he's found in the house. He's kidding. I hope._

_I read your Defense textbook through once. It's decent as a supplement, but I would never use it as a stand-alone textbook. It leaves out too much information. I hope you're at least looking at some other books in the library. I'd do that while you can- if she's as determined as you imply she is, she might clear the library of them before long. There's been some talk that Fudge is of the belief that Dumbledore is out to take over the Ministry, and is training you like a bunch of soldiers. They're preventing that scenario from occurring by doing away with any sort of learning environment. It's dreadful how far that man has fallen._

_It's great to hear you have support from the Hufflepuffs. Remember, Harry, that Hufflepuffs are very loyal and all about fairness and equality. Don't get on any of their bad sides, and you'll have a powerful ally. Tonks wants me to add in an 'I told you so' about it. Of course, I already knew that- don't say _anything_, Harry. I already have Sirius mocking me about it over here. She's a very nice young lady whom I like. What am I saying? Moving on._

_There's no news about Hagrid, Harry. Nothing that we know for sure, anyway. Just know that he's safe, and he isn't alone out there. We'd never do that to one of our own._

_Hello, Harry. Your Godfather 'writing'. What are you planning over there that you would need to make a large purchase for? Never mind, I don't want to know. I get the feeling we'll discover it soon enough. Anyway, it's rather like Muggle checks, as you said. I sent you a piece of parchment with this letter. It's called a 'Gringotts Transfer Slip'. It has all the lines and instructions right on it and it's connected directly to the Potter vault. Just sign, name the amount, and hand it over. Simple._

_It's been great hearing from you, Harry. We're sorry we can't see you, and we wish we could get more letters from you. We miss you, Harry._

_Sincerely,_

_Remus and Sirius_

--

_Evan Flos-_

_Interesting code you've got there. I know who you are, but keep using it in case something happens. I'd rather not face your angered Headmaster anytime soon if these were to slip into the wrong hands. That last letter especially. If you need to contact me again, give the letter to Dobby, that House-elf you know, and tell him to give it to 'Abe'. No more of that 'To Whom it May Concern' dung._

_Your last words in your letter were 'Be prudent'. Why be prudent when you can just sneak by the problem?_

_So, you want to rent out the Hogs Head for a couple of hours on the fifth of October, huh? First Hogsmeade trip for Hogwarts? That's doable. It'll cost you, though, but I don't doubt you'd be able to afford it several hundred times over. The Flos fortune is quite massive._

_Now, I gather this is going to be a secret meeting? Complete with tokens proving that they were actually allowed in? Send one over, and I'll have a Repelling Charm set up for anyone who isn't carrying one of them. Every item that you cast a spell on has a magical signature on it, so we'll just code it to the tokens'._

_I'll have the place set up for you when you get here. Just make sure you get here. And bring your Gringotts Transfer Slip I know your Godfather sent you. I'll help you out with it when you get here. And, no, I won't screw you over. I don't have a death wish, thank you._

_Word of advice- start thinking about _where_ you're going to hold your club meetings when this is over. I can't close down every time you need a place to practice. Hogwarts is a big place. You'll find something._

_-Abe_

--

The three weeks between Harry's resignation from Quidditch and the first trip to Hogsmeade were filled with small accomplishments. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had managed to vanish their mice completely, and Harry and Hermione actually had progressed onto kittens, upon which they were making great progress. The Quidditch team was once more talking to Harry, but Ginny seemed to have taken his resignation as a personal insult and would not say more than a few words to him. However, she and Ron had progressed quickly in Quidditch, and while Marik was slowly getting the hang of the sport, it was doubtful that he'd ever progress to being a starter, since his aim was horrible. The Shadow Mages had passed their second year tests without any trouble and were quickly moving through the third-year course.

The Saturday of the fifth arrived quickly for everyone, and Ryou and the other Shadow Mages found themselves marching several paces behind Malfoy and the rest of his gang of Slytherins. Acquiring permission slips for the Hogsmeade trip had been easier than expected. Sugoroku Mutou had been very pleased to hear that Yuugi was enjoying himself, and promptly returned Thoth with the signed slip. Isis, too, had been only too willing to sign for her brother. Kaiba and Ryou, however, were on their own at home- unheard of in Hogwarts- but Dumbledore still accepted their own signatures on the permission slips. The hardest part was leaving Mokuba behind.

Kaiba glowered at the snow-trodden path, fists clenched tightly. He'd been persuaded to leave his laptop back at the school by Mokuba, but only after the black-haired boy had said he was going to be all alone in the castle with just the other first years, and he didn't want to go to the Ravenclaw studying party, so he wanted something to keep him occupied (even _work_). This only made Kaiba want to stay behind with the young boy. After a bit of prodding, needling, whining, and professional (and practically unfair) application of puppy-dog eyes, Kaiba found himself, without work, on his way to Hogsmeade.

Marik and Yuugi were busy discussing what Malfoy's next plan of attack on Harry was (so far, he'd Charmed Harry's chair to slip out from under him twice, taped a magical drawing to his back during Care of Magical Creatures of Harry bowing at Umbridge's feet, and 'accidentally' set Harry's cloak on fire during Potions), and Ryou and Kaiba walked along in silence. Ryou watched the CEO for several seconds before smiling lightly.

"He wouldn't want you unhappy," Ryou said. Kaiba scowled more fiercely.

"I'm _not_ a happy person," Kaiba said. Ryou stared at him for several more seconds, eyes narrowing.

"You don't have to be a happy person to not be unhappy," Ryou said paradoxically. He brightened, brown eyes glowing with mirth. "I mean, just look at me!"

Kaiba did, turning to stare at the teen. Ryou grinned back at him and said, "Do you honestly believe _I_'_m_ a happy person?"

"No," Kaiba admitted, blue eyes scanning his pale face. "It looks like you're on Prozac."

Ryou let out a burst of startled laughter, clamping his hands over his mouth. Marik and Yuugi glanced over at them, while the Slytherins up ahead glared behind them, as if such undignified behavior was beneath them. Ryou looked over at Kaiba, grinning.

"I like that about you," Ryou said suddenly. Kaiba blinked a few times. Once his mind got over the fact that someone _liked_ something about him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Like _what_?" Kaiba asked.

Ryou slowed down and looked at him, leaning his head to the side. His eyes rolled over Kaiba's face, and the brunet found he couldn't look away. The only time anyone took to study his face so hard was during either a Duel, or a business meeting with a particularly gutsy CEO. Mokuba looked at him, sure, but never _studied_ him. For it to happen without a familiar reason was startling.

Then Ryou smiled at him, straightening his head. "You're very honest with me," Ryou said. Then his lips twitched, and said with a bit more humor, "You're very honest in general." He looked straight ahead, his smile fading slightly, becoming bitterer, and Kaiba could truly see the unhappy person behind the mask. "I've always had a lack of honesty in my life."

Kaiba watched him for a few more seconds. "Hn," was all he said, crossing his arms across his chest. Ryou hummed back, brushing a strand of white hair out of his face. The silence between them was companionable and welcome. However, Marik and Yuugi walked over and engaged the two of them in a conversation about how well they were doing with Cheering Charms, and that took them to Hogsmeade.

Ryou led the group of four along the main street in Hogsmeade, looking around at the shops and stalls. Kaiba ended up purchasing a quill set and a variety of colored inks for Mokuba, insisting it had nothing to do with the fact he felt guilty for leaving his brother behind. That was what the vast amount of candy he had bought from Honeydukes was for.

Once the group had filled their desire of window shopping, it was close to noontime. Yuugi glanced down at the map in his hands, frowning. "So, to get to the pub, we have to follow… the main street… um… where are we?"

Marik sighed, plucking the map from the shorter teen's hands, holding it up to his own face. "Well, we're in front of the Joke Shop, right?"

"Yeah," Yuugi said, looking at the shop behind them. Marik nodded and folded the map. He smiled at the group, triumphant.

"Well, then, we are lost."

Ryou sighed, rolling his eyes, and Yuugi smacked a hand to his forehead. Kaiba, annoyed, snatched the map from Marik's hands and glanced at it himself. As he mumbled under his breath, Ryou took the moment to look around at where they were. Suddenly, he spotted something behind them. His eyes widened and he thrust a hand into the air.

"Fred, George!"

The other three looked over to where Ryou had gestured, and sure enough, coming from Zonko's Joke Shop, were the twins and a tall, black teen. They looked over at the four and wandered over to them, each holding a bag of oddities in their grasp. Ryou smiled at them.

"I'm glad to see you," Ryou said swiftly, grabbing onto George's arm and pulling him into the group. His twin quickly followed and the other Gryffindor, too, and soon they were huddled together.

The newcomer grinned at the group. "Ah, here's your lot of Slytherins!" he said. He extended his hand to Ryou, and Ryou took it, although it was a bit awkward to shake hands while huddled together as they were. "Lee Jordan. Pleasure."

Ryou grinned. "Ryou Bakura," he said and gestured to the other Slytherins. "These are Yuugi and Kaiba. Good to meet you."

Once the introductions had ended, Fred raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?" he asked, grinning. Yuugi took the map from Kaiba and gave it to Fred.

"Could you tell us how to get to the Hog's Head pub?" Yuugi asked, scratching the back of his head. "None of us can apparently read a map…."

Fred grinned at the group before fishing into his pocket and pulling up a black coin. "Tickets, please?"

Yuugi smiled back, pulling out his own. "We've got them."

George whistled, pulling the map out of Fred's hands and folding it. He gave it back to Yuugi. "We'll take you there," he offered, "since most of them aren't going to be expecting any Snakes."

Yuugi, Ryou, and Kaiba looked at one another before turning back to Fred and George. Yuugi chuckled weakly. "That's probably a good idea."

George and Fred quickly grinned at one another, and George bowed to his brother. "Lead the way, my good sir!"

Fred bowed back. "Nay! Lead us on!"

"If you insist?"

"I do, I do!"

George then looped his arm with Yuugi's, marching forward. "Then I shall! Follow me!"

Fred mimicked the motion with Marik, and marched after his brother. Lee offered his arm to the CEO. Kaiba scowled.

"Touch me and I'll rip your arms off."

Lee laughed at him and turned to Ryou, who took the offered appendage with a grin. The two of them strode off after the twins immediately, leaving the brunet behind. Kaiba growled low in his throat and stormed after them, glaring murder at anyone who dared glance his way.

--

Harry stared at the small inn he had rented for his secret Defense Against the Dark Arts meeting. It was a bit on the small side, and rather dirty looking, in comparison to the Three Broomsticks, and the three of them hadn't even gone inside yet. Hermione kept wiping her hands on her pants, as if envisioning the dust and dirt that would be inside. Ron gave Harry a weak smile.

"So, uh, mate," the redhead began, "how'd you come across this place?"

Harry smiled a bit. "I wrote a letter to Lupin," Harry said, and Hermione looked at him. He continued before she said anything. "Just to tell them about what was going on. I asked about how Hagrid was feeling, since he's still sick, and then I remembered what Hagrid had said about this place." Harry grinned over at them. "It seemed perfect. And it _is_."

With that, Harry strode forward, grabbing the doorknob and pulled it open. And paused, blinking. It was even dirtier on the inside. Harry carefully tread over the filthy floors, breathing lightly through his mouth, since the stench of goats hung thick in the air of the single-roomed bar. The windows were so dirty that there was no way for anyone to peek inside them and see who was there (which Harry approved of greatly). Due to the lack of natural light coming through the windows, candles sat on tables all over.

Hermione looked around the building. "Why is it empty?" she asked softly.

Harry looked over at her. "I rented the place out. The owner put a Repelling Charm up for anyone who doesn't have a coin."

Hermione shook her head, but she was smiling. "Clever, Harry."

Harry blushed slightly at the praise, but was startled out of it when Ron coughed loudly and hard. "Blimey!" the teen said between gasps. "How long as it been since this place was cleaned?"

"Fourteen years," came a voice. The trio spun around, watching as a tall, thin, and vaguely familiar-looking old man with long, grey hair stepped out from a door behind the bar. His light blue eyes scanned the group for several moments before he closed the door behind him and leaned against the nearest surface on the bar. "Why? Does it bother you?" The tone was not an overly friendly one. Ron merely gulped and smiled awkwardly.

"Abe?"

The man glanced over at Harry and smirked. "Evan."

Harry snickered and nodded, and Hermione looked over at him. 'Abe' gestured for the teen to come over. "Let's get the transaction over with right now, before the crowds arrive. It's almost noon, you know."

"I know," Harry said, fishing the Gringotts Transfer Slip from his pocket. "Got a quill?"

"Yup."

Hermione was frowning as Harry signed over a hundred Galleons over to Abe, and was still frowning when he looked over at her. He waited. Finally, she sighed.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"I am."

Hermione nodded, straightening. "Alright then," she said, "let's get it set up." She spun around and looked at the redhead playing with the melted candle wax. "Ron! Get over here and help us!"

It was just five minutes before the first group arrived that Hermione, Ron, and Harry had organized the tavern so that forty or so people could sit and face the front, where Harry was currently pacing, muttering under his breath. The students came in groups of three or more, looking around the place in horrified awe before coming around to sit down in the chairs. Neville, Dean, and Lavender were the first to come through, but they were quickly followed by Parvati and Padma Patil, Cho, and a friend of hers whom Harry remembered as Marietta Edgecombe; Luna Lovegood strolled in by herself (the only one to do so) looking for all the world that she had done so under a trance; then followed Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinner, whispering and looking around; Colin Creevey was chattering with Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillian while a third Hufflepuff male with an upturned nose and blond hair, whom Harry hadn't wanted to invite but was forced to when the teen had overheard what Harry had been saying; Hannah Abbot came in with the two Hufflepuff girls she'd vouched for, one with a long plait down her back and the other with light brown hair and squared-framed glasses; and Ginny came after with Michael Corner, holding his hand, and two other Ravenclaw teens, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot.

Harry blushed when Cho smiled at him, waving a little, and smiled back before looking over the group. He frowned, looking at Hermione. "Do you see Fred or George?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nor Lee, Marik, or the others."

Suddenly, though, Fred and George entered the tavern, chattering animatedly to Marik, and soon followed Lee, who was busy showing off the gear from the Zonko's bag to Yuugi and Ryou. Kaiba looked like he was going to kill something, but that was nothing new to Harry. The blond Hufflepuff Harry already disliked glared at the three Slytherins as they entered the suddenly-silent sitting area. Then he looked at Harry, eyes narrow.

"What are you doing?!" he cried. "Inviting _Snakes_?!"

The crowd mumbled a bit, looking nervously at Yuugi, Kaiba, and Ryou, who all stood off to the side. Marik stood in front of them, as if to protect them from the thirty or so students there. Harry frowned at them, stepping forward at last.

"I invited them because I trust them," Harry said swiftly, green eyes narrowing, "just like I trust each of you."

The crowd still seemed uneasy, however. Hermione frowned before digging into her bag and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. Harry raised an eyebrow at her, but she refused to meet his eyes. "If it will make anyone at ease," she said, setting the parchment down, "they could sign this parchment now. If you sign the parchment, you are agreeing to _not_ tell Umbridge what you see and hear at the meetings of this club. You are agreeing to tell _no one_. Not your parents, your other friends, no one."

Hermione extended the quill out to the group of four, biting her lip a little. Marik eyed her for a moment before he stepped forward, snatching the quill from her hand. He looked at the parchment and then at Hermione. The girl glanced at her feet, face reddening. Marik sighed, and signed the parchment.

"Alright," Marik said, throwing the quill to Yuugi, who marched forward to sign, "can I sit down now?"

A few people nodded, and Yuugi began to the sign the paper. Marik sat down in the front row, next to Neville, and huffed. Awaiting their turn to sign, Ryou leaned closer to Kaiba, and the CEO glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. Ryou never took his gaze from the parchment.

"What's the first rule of Fight Club?" Ryou murmured. Kaiba sneered, blue eyes hard as diamonds.

"You don't talk about Fight Club," he answered at the same volume, but his tone was dangerous.

Yuugi passed Ryou the quill and went to sit down. Ryou walked over to the parchment and signed. The white-haired teen straightened immediately afterward and walked back to the CEO. He pressed the quill into Kaiba's hand.

"What's the second rule of Fight Club?" he whispered, brown eyes bright with humor.

As Kaiba walked by Ryou, he answered in a soft voice, "You _do not_ talk about Fight Club."

As the last two Shadow Mages took their seats in the front row, Harry exhaled and stood straighter. "Alright," he said softly, feeling his stomach clench and his heart thudding in his chest. He turned to look at Abe and smiled weakly. "Do you… have enough butterbeer for everyone?"

Abe scowled a bit. "Definitely," he grumbled. He began to set groups of four dusty bottles on the countertops, and Fred and George were quickly distributing them throughout the crowd. Harry quickly took one and wet his immensely dry mouth, staring at the ceiling for courage.

Face down Voldemort? Sure. Public speaking? _Hell no_.

Once everyone had a butterbeer in their hand (and the Shadow Mages had expressed a great liking for the beverage), Harry tried once more. He stood in front of the group clutching onto the bottle tightly in his hands.

"Hello, everyone," he said, smiling a bit. He was met with stares and very few smiles. Even Luna, who was normally off in her own world, had him completely in her slightly-bulging gaze. He cleared his throat, and exhaled. "I'm glad you came. Really glad. Because this is important." Harry drew himself up, and began to pace slowly in front of the group, turning his gaze towards the others every few steps. "It's important that we learn how to properly defend ourselves against whatever is out there. Because there _is_ something out there. This isn't about books or grades or getting back at Umbridge. No, this goes _beyond_ that." Harry paused, looking at them. "I want to save you," he said suddenly, green eyes bright. "I _have_ to. Because no one else is listening. No one else hears." Harry exhaled and lifted his head. "Voldemort is back."

Neville squawked loudly. Terry Boot's hands quivered for several seconds. Cho's friend, Marietta, flailed, splashing butterbeer down her shirt. Luna blinked rapidly for a few moments. Ron squeaked and jumped. The aggressive blond boy from before flinched before scowling.

"Where's the proof?" he called. "All we have is your word!"

Ron, getting over his involuntary body spasm, rounded on him, gesturing with his bottle. "Who _are_ you?"

"Zacharias Smith," he snapped back, "and I think we've _all_ got a right to know just _what_ makes you think that You-Know-Who is back!"

Hermione flushed, stepping forward. "Wait, look, this- that _isn't_ what this is for…."

"I saw him."

Hermione stopped, and looked over at Harry. The black-haired teen had turned his eyes away from the group, and he was once more clutching the butterbeer bottle for all it was worth. The entire pub stilled, even Abe paused in wiping down the counter to stare. Harry exhaled shakily.

"I saw him, _Mister Smith_," Harry said, every word a dagger that made the Hufflepuff wince. "The entire story, _my_ entire story was told last year. By Dumbledore." He looked at them for a few seconds. "I don't _want_ to talk about that night in the graveyard. That isn't what it's about…."

But even as he tried to get off the topic, the flashes of memory came to his mind and he had to stop. He stared at the ground, feeling the blood drain from his face. Even with his eyes wide open, he could see Wormtail's gushing, bloody stump of an arm… the awful crimson potion… Voldemort's inhuman shape and form, his laughter… his mother and father holding Voldemort back as he fled… Cedric's dead eyes staring back at him as he held the teen's body…

"Harry?"

Harry blinked rapidly, looking over at Hermione. The bushy-haired brunette had gone rather pale, and Harry gave her a shaky smile. "I'm fine," he said, but his voice was scratchy. He took a swig of the butterbeer and wished that was far stronger that it was. He turned back to the group, and saw their wide, horrified eyes upon him. Even Zacharias seemed far less eager to hear the tale. Harry felt the bitter smile rising on his lips and, before he could stop himself, he held up his butterbeer. "To therapy," he drawled, and took another long drink.

"Anyway," Harry said, shaking himself a little to get out of that frame of mind and ignoring the glances everyone was shooting to each other. "Now that we've shot the elephant in the room…."

"You shot something?

Harry turned around and looked at Luna, who had leaned her head so far to the side that her ear was resting on her shoulder. The Ravenclaw straightened a second later and stared at him, hard. "And what elephant?" she asked, looking around. Then she looked over at him, her silvery eyes widening. "Oh, do you mean an Unseeable Snoutsucker?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, sending Ron a sharp glare for giving the dotty girl a coin to their event. Ron frowned back at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Harry, amused and curious, asked, "What's an… _Unseeable Snot-Sucker_?"

Luna sat up straighter and her eyes brightened with her excitement. Harry couldn't help but think she looked far loonier than usual. "Unseeable _Snout_suckers," she began, her radish earrings swinging wildly from her ears as she looked around at the group, and she looked progressively madder and madder, "are creatures with large, long trunks like an elephant, which they use to feed on nervousness or unease in humans, and humans can't usually see them, so they tend to follow a single person around who has those specific auras- and since Harry was probably feeling a bit nervous about talking to us all today, he was a big walking buffet for it and the poor creature followed him into the room- and emits an aura that causes others to ask questions that will increases the nervousness or unease of their target." She looked around the room, as if searching for the body of an invisible creature that Harry had somehow shot without a sound. "You didn't have to shoot it, though," she admonished, looking back at Harry with disappointment in her silvery gaze. "They usually leave after a few hours."

Harry sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "It was a figure of speech," he said. "It means that the topic that everyone has been thinking about has been dealt with." Luna's mouth took the form of an 'o', and she went back to looking around them room anyway.

Harry shook his head a bit and turned back to the whole group. "Anyway, this group is going to be based around Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'll be teaching spells I've found useful in my… _adventures_ over the years. Things I wish I had known during those times."

The group looked around at one another, eyebrows raised. Suddenly, the Hufflepuff with her hair in a plait leaned forward, her light-colored eyes staring at him curiously. "I've heard," she began, drawing the entire room's attention, "that you can produce a Patronus."

The room mumbled with noise while every eye turned upon Harry. The black-haired teen flushed lightly and nodded a little. "Uh, yeah," Harry said. The girl raised an eyebrow.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

Harry blinked a few times. "Yes," he said simply. While the others broke into startled whispers, Harry looked closer at the girl. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Madam Bones, would you?"

The girl grinned. "She's my auntie," the girl admitted. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So, really? A corporeal Patronus?"

Harry smiled a bit. "Yeah. It's a stag," he said. Lee whistled, impressed.

"I didn't know that about you, Harry!" he said. He turned and glowered at Fred and George. "You two knew, though, didn't you?"

Fred grinned weakly. "Mum told us to keep quiet about it. Figured Harry had enough to deal with."

Harry sighed, but his lips twitched into a smile. "I do," he said. The Hufflepuff sitting next to Susan pushed up her glasses and leaned her head to the side.

"One of the portraits in Dumbledore's office told me you killed a basilisk with the sword in there," the brunette said. "Is that true?"

Harry smiled weakly. "Yeah, but…."

The girl's eyebrow rose. "That's amazing," she said under her breath. Terry Boot nodded, eyes wide in awe. Several others seemed to shift back to look at Harry once more, as if reasoning over what they'd heard. Yuugi, Marik, and Ryou all looked rather confused about what they were talking about. Kaiba, however, stared firmly at him.

"I heard you faced off against a dragon," he said simply. Ernie Macmillan leaned forward, nodding.

"He did," the Hufflepuff Prefect said. "Summoned his broom and did the niftiest bit of flying I've _ever_ seen."

Harry flushed deeper, ducking his head. Luna blinked upwards, as if she had just realized where she was. "Harry also fought off merpeople, and did the whole Triwizard Maze, and learned many spells to prepare for it, and is probably even more qualified than Professor Umbridge to teach us," she stated, her eyes resting on Harry's with such intensity Harry was sure she was trying to see through him.

"Well, yes," Harry said, feeling both heartened and nervous. Cho then sat up straighter.

"And in his first year," she said in a strong voice that sounded proud, "he protected the Sorcerer's Stone from You-Know-Who."

The group stared at Harry, their eyes far more confident in him than they had at the start. Harry grinned back at them. "It sounds great when you say it like that," Harry admitted as the smile slowly slid from his face, "but really, and I'm not being modest, I had help. A lot of help. From teachers and my friends." He grinned at them again. "And that's what I want to do. I want to help _you_." He paused, looking them over. "Will you let me?"

Luna nodded, as though it had not been a rhetorical question, and swung her legs a bit. The rest of the group swiftly joined in, chiming their agreement. Harry's smile grew wider, and he felt pride swell up in his chest. Hermione came forward, holding up the parchment and quill from before.

"Now, if everyone could sign this…." she said, and immediately a line of students formed to do so. Only Marietta looked unhappy when she signed her name on the parchment. After several minutes, all the names were written down on the paper, and it was stored safely in Hermione's bag. As the group settled back to their seats (except the Shadow Mages, who hadn't left them) Harry smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back. Then he turned back to the group.

"Alright, now that we've got _that_ settled," he said, and the group return their attention to him, "I want to set up a pair of House Leaders." The others looked baffled by that, and Harry grinned. "Just two of you from each House that'll act as my go-betweens if I have to spread something around quickly, and we can't all meet together. You know, recommend books and stuff, also helping me with figuring out which time and date won't conflict with your schedules." Harry scratched the back of his head. "Prefects probably are going to be too busy for something like this, though."

The Houses quickly turned towards each other and began to chatter softly. The three Slytherins looked at one another. Kaiba rolled his eyes and looked away. Ryou and Yuugi stared at each other for a moment. Then Yuugi raised his hand. "I'll handle Slytherin," he said. Ryou nodded. "I'll help," the albino offered.

Harry nodded, smirking a little. "Alright, Slytherin is good. Anyone else?"

The Ravenclaws spoke softly between them, and then they turned back to Harry. Terry Boot nodded. "Cho and I will be the Leaders of Ravenclaw."

Susan Bones and the brunette with square-framed glasses from Hufflepuff both raised their hands into the air. The brunette spoke, "We'll be your Leaders for Hufflepuff."

Ron blinked at her, squinting a bit. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked.

The brunette grinned, baring her canines as she did. "Sally-Anne Perks, but everyone calls me 'Badger'," she said. Ron threw Hermione a bewildered look, mouthing the nickname to her. Hermione shrugged and Badger continued. "I was Sorted just before Mister Potter."

Harry blushed. "Gah," he said, "just… just call me _Harry_."

Badger blinked, and then nodded, smiling and showing off her teeth again. Ron looked a bit unnerved by the odd Hufflepuff, glancing over at Hermione. However, the girl had turned around, and was digging through her bag again. She pulled out a pouch that resembled the one Harry had given her several weeks ago, although it was bright blue instead of red, and a bit larger. Hermione pulled it open and a bright shimmer of gold caught everyone's attention. Ron's mouth dropped open.

"Are those… _Galleons_?!"

Hermione looked down at the coins in the pouch before looking back at Ron. "No, not really," she admitted. She grinned at Harry. "Harry's spider coins gave me an idea, though. So, I Transfigured a few fake Galleons for us to use." She held the bag out to Ron. "Pass these out to everyone, please," she said, and Ron took the pouch from her and began to walk between the chairs. Hermione kept one of the coins, though, and held it up. "You see these numbers that are on the edge of the coin? On a real Galleon, it would signify which goblin created it. However, on these it'll show the date and time our meetings will occur." She waited until everyone had a coin, and then pulled another from her pocket and handed it to Harry, who looked at it in awe. "Whenever Harry changes the numbers on _his_ coin, ours will change to reflect it. They'll also heat up to alert us that it's done."

Terry Boot jerked back, staring at the coin in his hand. "Wait a minute," he said quickly, looking over at Hermione. "Isn't that what the _Protean_ Charm does?!"

Hermione blinked a few times, and Abe once more looked over at them. Hermione nodded. "Yes," she said. "That's the spell I used…."

"Well," Abe said softly, blue eyes twinkling a bit, "that Charm gives most seventh years trouble, Miss Granger."

Hermione blushed hotly, ducking her head. However, her smile was wide and proud. "Oh, well," she said softly. Terry looked star-struck.

"Why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" he asked. Hermione cleared her throat.

"The Hat thought about it, but chose to stick me in Gryffindor," she admitted. She turned to Harry, who was admiring the coin. "Well, Harry, anything else?"

Harry winced before slipping the coin into his pocket. "The only thing left," he began, "is figuring out _where_ to practice."

Harry knew Zacharias would speak before the Hufflepuff even opened his mouth. "Wait a minute…." the blond snapped. "You mean to tell us we don't have a place to meet?!"

Harry looked uncomfortable. "I… _do_… have a place where we'd all fit… a _secret_ place," he said slowly. He glanced at Ginny for a moment. "I'd rather not use it though."

Zacharias looked just as unhappy as before. "And what does_ that_ mean? That you'd rather not take us all down to your secret clubhouse? Harry Potter not willing to share?" he asked hotly, brown eyes narrow.

Harry's green eyes flared suddenly, and a swift and fierce rage rose up within him, the one that he had buried deep within him throughout the year. "It means," Harry snarled at the blond, "that I'd rather not take you all into the Chamber of Secrets if there's another way!"

Ginny gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth. Michael Corner instantly placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning to look her in the eye. The rest of the group looked torn between horror and curiosity. Harry looked away, breathing deeply. He swallowed again and turned back to the group.

"Sorry," he said simply, but looked directly at Ginny. The redhead nodded a little, blinking rapidly. Harry then scanned the group. "So, I'd like to use it as a last resort." Harry exhaled, clenching and unclenching his fists. He then said, "If, by next week, I don't have a place for us, we'll go… _there_."

Ginny shivered, but nodded weakly. Michael rubbed his hand over her shoulder, and she gave him a thankful smile. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'll get a hold of the House Leaders to tell you guys where it'll be by next week."

There was an awkward silence for a few more seconds before Fred stretched out in the chair. "So, is it over?" he asked, "'cause we've got some items of a… _sensitive_ nature to buy."

Harry grinned, nodding to them. "Yeah, that's it. Er," Harry paused for a second, "unless you have any questions…?"

Terry nodded. "What about younger students? My brother would love to join."

Collin Creevey nodded, and Kaiba made what could be taken as a noise of agreement. Harry smiled at them. "If you have someone who you think would like to join, tell me about them first. Then I'll make a decision."

The group broke into soft, quiet whispers, and Harry could feel that they were ready to leave. He clapped his hands together once and smiled. "Thanks for coming everyone," he said, and they began to stand and stretch out their aching limbs, chattering eagerly to one another. Harry grinned even wider. "I'll be telling your Leaders where to meet by next week, so keep an ear out!"

The group dispersed in the same manner as they entered- in groups of three or more. Ron was talking with a few of the Gryffindors who'd remained behind. He looked over at Harry.

"Oi, Harry!" he called. Harry looked over at him, and the redhead continued. "They're wondering who Gryffindor's Leaders are."

Harry frowned, thinking. He looked up. "Well, I'm one," he said before looking over at Ron and Hermione, who looked ready to volunteer, and added, "and you two already have Prefect duties…."

Neville, who was in the group, cleared his throat. "I-I could do it," he offered. Harry looked at him, and then smiled.

"That'd be great. Thanks, Neville."

Neville smiled back at him, and Lions began to make their way to the door. As Ron talked Quidditch strategies with a few of his teammates, Harry turned to Hermione and smiled at her, eyebrow raised. "You were awfully prepared for a club you wanted _nothing_ to do with," he said.

Hermione smiled back at him, her brown eyes bright. "I got into the idea the more I thought about it," she said, "and I knew you'd need some help. You might be good at Transfiguration, but you're pants at Charms."

Harry nodded, but was grinning. "What would I do without you?" he asked her.

Hermione patted him on the shoulder. "You'd survive," she said simply.

And Harry knew it was true.

--

That following Tuesday, there was still no notice from Harry about where the Defense Club would be meeting. Yuugi was feeling a bit disheartened- now his friend needed his help, and he was of no use to him. Yuugi sighed, slipping out of the Slytherin common room and wandering through the dungeon, the small black pack that held the Millennium Ring on his back as usual. Yami's form hovered beside him as the teen walked up the stairway.

/Don't fret, Aibou,/ Yami said, causing Yuugi to look at him. /There is very little we can do now, but we all have a purpose. Just because ours hasn't become apparent doesn't mean it doesn't exist./

Yuugi sighed, slouching a bit. /I know,/ the teen murmured through their link, /but our friend is struggling and we're just sitting back and watching…/

Yami sent a soothing wave through their link, and Yuugi smiled over at him. As they exited the dungeons, the duo spotted Fred and George talking to Lee by the main staircase. Yami nudged at Yuugi, and the host allowed the spirit to take control. A brief flash of the Millennium Puzzle later, and a pair of maroon eyes scanned the room. He then strode towards the twins.

/Are you sure about this, Yami?/ Yuugi asked, looking rather nervous on the spirit's behalf as he hovered beside Yami. /What if it isn't as safe as they think it is…?/

Yami fought the urge to smirk. /Concerned for your body?/ he asked jokingly. However, the sheer amount of horror and shame that washed over Yami from Yuugi nearly made him stumble.

/No!/ Yuugi cried, looking dismayed. /Not at all! I don't want to see _you_ get hurt, Yami!/

/I was joking, Yuugi,/ Yami said, feeling a slight throb in his head from where Yuugi's emotions had bashed against his. Yuugi blushed in embarrassment, wincing.

/Oh. Sorry./

/Quite alright./

"Yuugi! Here you are!"

Yami was pulled from their conversation by the twins leaping at him eagerly. He nodded to them. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," Yami said with a smirk. "I take it everything is ready?"

Fred grinned, pulling an empty black bag from behind his back. "Yup!" he said. He handed the bag to Yami, who looked down at it. He frowned.

"There's nothing in here."

George and Lee exchanged an amused grin. George reached over and plucked it from the teen's hands. "This isn't a _bag_, Yuugi," he said. "It's a _hood_. Specifically an 'Eye-No-Spy' hood we invented."

Fred took it from his brother. "This hood will block out all sounds and sights from whoever is wearing it over their head. Perfect for transporting Snakes into the dens of Lions."

Yami blinked at it, and then ran a hand over one of his multi-colored spikes of hair. "Will it fit?" he asked. Fred grinned and tugged on the sides of the bag, and Yami watched as it expanded at the firm pressure.

"One size fits all, even crazy hairdos like yours."

With that, Fred pulled the hood over Yami's head, and everything went completely black. Yami felt himself smirk, however. /Yuugi?/

/I can still see everything out here, Yami,/ came the reply.

Yami closed his eyes, a small smile inching across his face. /Good,/ the sprit responded. He had been put into Slytherin for a reason.

A pair of hands gripped him by the upper arms and he moved forward. The walk to the Gryffindor common room took forever (mostly because he fell through a trick step once, and without being able to really see what he was doing, it had taken longer than usual to remove himself from it), but with Yuugi keeping him company with small tidbits of conversation as well as the directions to the Gryffindor common room, he wasn't that bored. After awhile, Yami felt himself being pushed through a doorway. The hands on his arms pulled him to a stop, and then let go. A moment later, the hood was removed.

"Voilà!"

Yami blinked a few times, the light in the room blinding him for a moment. However, he was suddenly and keenly aware of all the dark and suspicious looks being thrown his way. He gripped his backpack's straps a bit tighter and ignored them, however, choosing instead to admire the red and gold room. He hummed under his breath, maroon eyes half-closed.

"It's far warmer here," Yami said, glancing around. He smirked at Fred over his shoulder. "And brighter."

Yuugi floated around, looking at the furniture. /These chairs…! Yami, look at them! I bet they don't hurt your back _at all_!/

Yami had to fight to swallow the chuckle that threatened to unleash itself. Mokuba rushed over to him, smiling. "How's Seto doing?"

Yami smiled at the black-haired boy. "Fine," Yami said. "Antisocial and busy working on his laptop when I left them. Ryou's good too- he was reading over some of our notes."

Mokuba nodded. "I figured as much," he said with a sigh. He then looked over at the group of first year Gryffindors were staring at him with slight horror. He turned back to Yami, rolling his eyes. He lowered his voice and muttered in Japanese, "They're all so stupid here. Apparently you don't get Slytherin-Gryffindor splits in families all that often, so they're a bit weary I'll just turn around and star _hexing_ them or something. It's really tempting." He then grumbled mostly to himself, "I wish I'd been Sorted into Ravenclaw sometimes…."

"Mokuba? You comin' back?" one of the kids called. Mokuba looked over at them and nodded before returning his gaze to Yami.

"See you later," he said with a wave, and then hurried over back to the table.

Suddenly, Marik popped out of nowhere and latched onto Yami's arm, tugging him forward. "If you think this place is nice, you've _got_ to see the dorm rooms!"

Yami, Marik, Fred, and George all walked up the flight of stairs and out of the common room, leaving Lee behind with a quick glance. Fred and George pulled the other two into the sixth year dorm and closed the door after them. Marik glanced around, taking in the sight of the rather messy room, as Fred hurried over to his trunk. George, meanwhile, looked the two of them over. He focused on Yami, leaning his head to the side a bit as he squinted. Yami frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. Then George looked away as Fred walked over, holding two buckets and a few tiny boxes.

"Got the stuff!" he said, and George looked back at Yami and Marik.

"You know what to do, right?" he asked. The two nodded, wincing. George crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at them. "You do know we'd never tell, right? Whatever it is you're hiding, whoever you were talking to, we'd never say a thing."

Yami nodded, staring at George. "And that," Yami said as he took a box and a bucket, "is why we are doing this."

Fred and George grinned at one another. Fred sighed wistfully. "A Slytherin with _honor_," he said. "I've heard they existed, but I never thought we'd actually meet one…."

Yami scowled at the semi-insult to his House and friends, while Marik snickered loudly, taking a bucket and box as well. The group of four left the dorms and walked back into the common room. By now, Lee had gathered a large group of people in the far left corner with a large sign hovering overhead that read, in letters that flashed red and gold with small fireworks spitting off from each exclamation point:

_**SKIVING SNACKBOXES!  
**__**Get Out of Class With Half the Hassle!  
**__**Use to Study For Those Pesky O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. Exams!  
**__**Being Sick Has Never Been So Fun!  
**__**Preorder Yours Today!**_

Hermione was scowling over at them from where she was sitting with Harry and Ron. Ron was busy writing on parchment, while Harry had closed his book and was watching the chaos unfold. However, when Yami and Marik came marching into the room, holding boxes and buckets, Hermione could take no more and jumped to her feet, pointing at the twins.

"Oh no!" she snapped, marching forward. The twins paused and looked at her while Yami and Marik pushed their way to the front of the crowd, setting their pails onto the ground. Hermione seethed, clenching her fists tightly. "I _told you_…."

"Not to give them to _first years_," Fred said simply. George gestured to where Marik and Yami were making a show of taking off their school uniforms and pulling on a set of vivid magenta cloaks with their names written across the front of them in bright yellow lettering. "Marik and Yami," George said, "are _not_ first years."

Hermione scowled at them. "That is _not_ what I meant and you know it!"

Yami looked over at Hermione, frowning. Yuugi's presence in the back of his mind flared up with nervousness. /Yami…/ he murmured. The spirit sighed, and stood taller.

"Hermione," he called, drawing the livid girl's attention, "Are you insinuating that Marik and I are unable to determine if something would be a threat to us? And, for that matter, that we are not allowed to assist friends?"

Hermione blinked a few times. "I… what?" she said.

Marik, catching on to Yami's idea, crossed his arm. "That's incredibly _suppressive_ of you, you know." Hermione gasped indignantly, but Marik went on. "If I _want_ to help out Fred and George, then I'm going to. Free will and all that jazz."

Hermione flushed rapidly. Fred and George, sensing they won the argument, each patted the confused girl on the shoulder. "We won't hold it against you," George said. Fred nodded.

"Totally not!" he declared. Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times before she spun around and marched back to her chair, where Ron and Harry were both very busy not looking at her.

Yami watched as Fred and George stood to either side of Marik and himself, smiling brightly. The small crowd of Gryffindors had quieted and Fred gestured to Yami.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he called. "I'd like to introduce you to Mister Yuugi Mutou." There were a few scowls, and Yami glared back at them. Fred frowned at them. "I'd like to ask that you treat him with respect, since he's our friend."

George grinned, but there was a wicked air to it. "We don't like people who aren't nice to our friends."

A few members of the crowd glanced at one another nervously before settling down. Fred grinned again. "Tonight, we will be showcasing our latest product, the Puking Pastille!"

George plucked an orange and purple candy from one of the tiny boxes they were carrying. "Ingest the orange bit-"

"-Which tastes like grapes-" George chirped.

"-And you'll begin to vomit quite spectacularly at regular intervals every fifteen to twenty seconds," Fred finished.

George held up another candy. "During one of the breaks between sticking your head into your receptacle of choice, eat the purple bit-"

"-Which has the flavor of oranges-" Fred interjected.

"-And your vomiting will cease," George said. "To demonstrate this for you, we have Yuugi and Marik." The twins handed Yami and Marik the candies they were holding, and the two Shadow Mages each held up their pieces to the other.

"To your health," Yami said with a smirk. Marik nodded.

"Bottoms up?"

"'Orange' up, Marik," Yami joked. Marik grinned at him.

"As you say," he chirped, and then Marik took a bite of the orange end. He chewed and swallowed. "Huh," he said, admiring the candy, "it really _does_ taste like gra-_urk_!"

Marik clamped a hand over his mouth, and George pressed the pail into Marik's other hand. The blond immediately ducked into the pail and vomited loudly. He kept his head inside the pail, moaning, while George began to count down.

"Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen…."

"Oh Bastet," Marik bewailed to the bottom of the pail, "I promise _never_ to do this to myself _ever again_…!"

"Four, three, two, one…."

Another second passed before Marik retched into the pail once more. After this, however, he immediately lifted his head and threw the purple half of the candy down his throat, coughing a bit. He blinked though, and leaned his head back with a relieved sigh. Then he turned to George.

"How much are these going for? I'd cut my own arm off to get out of Umbridge's class."

The crowd _cheered_.

After Yami had duplicated the test, both Shadow Mages had put their names down for several boxes to be sent to them. Mokuba, too, had preordered a fair share of Snackboxes.

When Hermione expressed her displeasure at this, Mokuba slammed his book shut and turned on her. "What?!" he snapped. He stood up straighter and fixed her with a glare worthy of a Kaiba. "_I'm_ not wasting my time in a class I'm not learning anything in."

He stormed off, leaving Hermione looking stricken. Yami, who had taken a seat beside Marik on one of the squishy red couches, waved his hand through the air.

"It's nothing personal," Yami said, and Hermione looked over at him. Yami shrugged. "Both Mokuba and his brother are of the belief that if something doesn't have a positive impact on their lives, then it's worthless." Yami gestured to the books laid out before him on the table. "Mokuba went over all this information with us while we were at Grimmauld Place. He's just frustrated that he can't learn something new."

Hermione frowned, clasping her hands in front of her. "I suppose I can understand that…." she said softly. She jolted up a second later, and rushed to her feet. She grinned at the group, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "You've given me a great idea, Yuugi. Thank you," she said, and rushed from the room, climbing the stairs to the girl's dormitory two at a time.

Ron watched her leave for a few moments longer than Yami thought was necessary, but then the redhead quickly looked away. As he turned, Ron's eyes caught sight of the tiny backpack Yami had sitting on his lap and he leaned forward a bit, his eyes narrowed with curiosity.

"You're never without that thing," Ron observed, and Yami went unnaturally stiff. "I mean, even when we went to the trains, you had that with you. And during your Sorting, too." Ron reached over to poke it, but Yami jerked it back. The Gryffindor frowned, looking Yami in the eye. "What's in it?"

Yami clutched the backpack tighter, and Marik was staring at it. They both glanced around the common room. By that time, the common room had cleared of most people- only Fred, George, Lee, and themselves remained. Finally, Yami spoke in a soft, dangerous tone. "Something that should not be spoken of. Ever. Please do not ask me again."

Ron and Harry exchanged nervous looks. Harry's eyebrows furrowed, and Ron's ears reddened, signifying their irritation that information was being kept from them. Marik scowled.

"You aren't the only ones being kept in the dark," the blond snapped quietly, lavender eyes flashing. "We still don't have the whole story about Dictator Dark. Remember that."

Ron and Harry both nodded a bit, but didn't look any happier. Yami sighed, stretching a bit. "It's getting rather late," he said glumly. He picked up the tiny black backpack and pulled it over his shoulders carefully. "I'd better get Fred and George to take me back to the dungeon."

Marik nodded, standing and stretching. The Egyptian grinned at Yami. "Tell the Snakes I said 'hello', would you?"

Yami nodded. "Of course," he said. He looked at the other two teens. "See you all at breakfast."

The crazy-haired teen left them, and Ron yawned. Marik was gathering his own books and supplies. The redhead looked at Harry. "I'm heading off to bed," Ron said, and shook his half-done Potions essay. "I'll finish this in the morning."

Harry had been planning on exploring the Chamber of Secrets during the next afternoon to ensure it was safe to use and would have no free time to finish all the homework. Not that he was planning on telling Ron _that_, however. "No, I've got to get this done," Harry said. "We have Charms tomorrow, and you know how I've been doing rather poorly lately."

While not a true lie, it wasn't his real reason. Ron, however, winced and nodded at him. "You _are_ kind of falling behind this year, huh?"

Harry scowled at his friend but nodded. Ron and Marik quickly left, and Lee wasn't too far behind, as Fred and George had left with Yami moments ago. Harry immediately turned back to his potions essay, frowning at it. He'd gotten quite bit done before Yuugi had arrived, which was all well and good since there was no way he'd get any further with all the vomiting that went on, but he still needed a few more feet. With a suffering exhale, Harry set to work.

Fred and George returned and left without Harry moving from his spot. He was determined to do better on this essay than he had on his previous one. Since McGonagall had told him that his mother had been good at Charms and Potions, he had been driven to excel in either of those classes. Charms had been his first choice, as Professor Flitwick did not have anything against Harry, and Harry rather liked the short Professor. However, Harry couldn't seem to get the newer things that their Professor was teaching him, and he was struggling even with Hermione attempting to give him extra tutoring.

And that left Potions.

Harry brought the tip of the quill to his mouth, tapping his lip and getting ink on it. He'd never put much effort in Potions before, and he admitted it. It reminded him of cooking, something he had always hated to do. Of course, there was the fact that the Professor was _Snape_, and the greasy git had never been decent to Harry. In response, Harry had always done poorly in his classes, if only to spite the Potions Master. However, when Harry put it in the perspective that he was _also_ spiting his mother's memory…

Things were going to change.

Researching _Confusing_ and _Befuddlement Draughts_ was not the most fun of jobs, but as Harry did so he couldn't help but wonder if his mother had looked up the same information. Had she carefully underlined each phrase with her quill, before Charming the corner into a perfect dog-ear? Harry merely used a variety of bookmarks and sticky notes to keep his pages straight, but the thought made him feel closer to _her_ than he had in years. It was always his father everyone talked about, but no one ever mentioned his mother. If he had red hair, would others take the time to mention more of her to him?

As he ran a hand through his black hair, tugging at the locks, he wondered if there was a Charm to alter the color of one's hair. He would have to look it up and have Hermione cast it on him, though, since he would probably end up with an elephant's nose. If he did have red hair, would those who knew his mother come out of the woodwork and talk to him, tell him how similar he was to his mother? Harry sighed wistfully, setting the quill onto the table and propping his chin onto his hands. It would be nice to hear about _her_ for a change.

But the thoughts stopped there.

"_OWWWW_!"

Sharp, slashing pain seared across his scar. Harry clamped his hands to his forehead, crying out in shock. It sent him tumbling to the floor, where he went limp for several long minutes. He couldn't move any part of his body, as though the pain had paralyzed him. His head had turned to the side and glasses were askew on his face. He stared at the fireplace, feeling as though he was looking through a long, dark tunnel. The blood roared in his ears, and he felt woozy and nauseous. Foggy shapes and echoes of voices danced through his mind, as if he'd been in a room for less than a second before being jerked out of it again.

Then his mind seemed focused on a single thought.

"He's angry," he said to the wall, but the voice wasn't his, or it didn't feel like it. He hadn't meant to say it. "Something's gone very wrong."

"Mister Harry Potter sir!"

Harry could feel someone tugging on his shirt, and he forced his arms to obey his commands. He pushed himself to his knees, shaking a bit. He looked around, straightening his glasses as best he could.

"Mister Harry Potter sir, is you okay?"

Harry found the creature speaking to him standing at his side, large green eyes staring at him, tugging nervously on Harry's shirt. Harry smiled at Dobby.

"I-I'm fine," he said, his voice coming out scratchy. He moved, wobbling, to his feet, and Dobby attempted to assist. Once Harry was sitting on the couch again, Dobby scrambled to quickly pick up Harry's books and parchment, which had been sent tumbling to the floor. He took them from Dobby when the elf handed them to him. "Thank you, Dobby."

Dobby bowed to Harry, gleeful. "Dobby is always willing to help Mister Harry Potter sir!" He then clutched at the long scarf wrapped around his neck, tugging helplessly on it. "What happened, sir? Should I be going to get Madam Pomfee?"

Harry looked confused. "Madam Pomfee?" he said softly. "Oh, you mean Madam Pomfrey!" Harry shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine now. Just… fine."

Hermione would say to tell Dumbledore, and Ron would agree. Harry felt another flash of red-hot anger, his own this time, and clenched his fists tightly. No, he thought, bitterness racing through him. No, Dumbledore didn't even want to _look_ at him. Why would the Headmaster have _any_ desire to talk to him?

"Mister Harry Potter sir! Yous is all pale! Are you sure you is not needing Madam Pomfee?"

Harry looked over at Dobby and smiled, but there was no joy in it. "I'm fine," he said stiffly, forcing back his emotions. "I'm fine."

Dobby looked doubtful, but was willing to let it go, apparently, since he nodded. Harry rubbed his scar, which was prickling painfully now, and looked Dobby over. "Dobby," he began, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh!" Dobby squeaked, "Dobby is here to clean the Gryffindor Tower."

"By yourself?" Harry asked. Dobby nodded, and drew himself taller.

"Oh, yes sir!" he said. "The other house elves do not wants to come here. Your bushy-haired friend leaves socks and hats under the dirty things, sir. They is not happy with her, feels insulted sir." Dobby smiled. "But I is happy to clean by myself, sir."

Harry frowned, knowing _exactly_ who the 'bushy-haired friend' was. He smiled at Dobby. "That's not fair to you, Dobby. I'm sure you have a lot of other things you need to do besides clean the Tower. I'll talk to her about it," Harry promised.

Dobby's eyes watered, and he smiled brighter. "Oh, Harry Potter is such a kind wizard! Always looking out for Dobby!" Dobby used his too-long scarf to wipe his face and blow his nose. "Such a great wizard, he is!"

Harry blushed and winced. "Th-thank you, Dobby."

Dobby suddenly brightened. "Oh, Dobby almost forgots, sir! Dobby is to be telling you that your owl is back in the castle. Dumblydore made sure she was back."

Harry smiled wider, and the pain in his scar faded to a dull ache. "Thanks, Dobby."

"Always happy to help," Dobby chirped. "Is there anything Dobby could do for you, sir?"

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. 'Get rid of Umbridge?' he wanted to say, but the elf would probably take it upon himself to do just that. The last thing he wanted was for the elf to get in trouble, and then have a rumor run rampant that Harry had hired a house-elf hitman. His reputation was bad enough, thank you.

Then be blinked, and looked over at the house elf whose knowledge of Hogwarts's secrets was probably close to _if not better_ than the marauders of old. And Harry smiled.

"Dobby," he asked gently, leaning forward a bit, "you wouldn't happen to know where I could put a group of about forty people in Hogwarts, _in secret_, to teach them Defense Against the Dark Arts, would you?"

Dobby _beamed_.

--

Harry stood in the Room of Requirement, feeling just as nervous as he had that day in the Hog's Head Inn. The entire group had arrived, lead by their House Leaders, at the Room at seven that Wednesday night. Harry had been nervous at first when Dobby had told him of the 'Come and Go Room', believing it was too good to be true, but after inspecting it himself Harry had to say it was _perfect_. Bookcases filled with tomes of Defensive Magic, cushions for practicing spells, dark wizard detectors, practice dummies… Harry couldn't have come up with a more perfect place if he tried.

He faced the group, twirling his wand in his hand and smiling a little. "Well," he began, "glad you could make it. So, the whole 'House Leaders' thing works well?"

There was a mumbled noise that sounded like it was affirming his assumption, so Harry continued. "Good," he said. "Uh, I was given the suggestion for us to come up with a name, so, any suggestions?"

"How about 'The Defense Against Stupid Professors'?"

Harry winced. "Less wordy."

"'Umbridge Sucks'?"

"I agree," Harry said, "but how about something that we can use in everyday conversation."

Ginny straightened. "The Defense Association? We could call it the D.A. for short."

Harry smiled. "That's great!" he said. Then Marik sneered a bit.

"Why not just call it 'Dumbledore's Army?'" he asked. At everyone's questioning gaze, he shrugged. "Same initials and stuff."

There was a shout of agreement from the back, and suddenly the cry rose up and everyone was agreeing. Hermione smiled, spreading the list of names on a nearby desk and, with a quick and graceful motion, wrote '_Dumbledore's Army_' across the top of it.

Harry clapped his hands, drawing the attention back to him. He smiled at them. "Now that we have a name, I think we'd better start on our lesson, huh?" There were a few chuckles, and Harry nodded, before he gripped his want tighter. "Today, we're going to start with the basics. Shield Charms."

"What?!"

Harry didn't even look at Zacharias. "Shield Charms," he repeated, "because until you can defend yourself correctly, I don't want to teach you how to attack."

There were a few grumbles, and Zacharias looked like he was going to argue some more. Harry glared at them. "I want to teach you how to _survive_, not to die valiantly in a blaze of glory. Because, without a defense, that's what you'll do- _die_."

There was a stillness in the room. Harry realized that they might have never heard it put so bluntly before. He cleared his throat, and scanned over the crowd. He was glad to see at least that Luna looked as though she found the spinning sneakoscopes more interesting than possible death. He sighed, stepping forward, and gestured for the group to rise. The silence remained even as the group stood as one, and took out their wands. Harry grinned at them.

"Now, on the count of three, I want you to cast a Shield Charm- which, for those of you who haven't quite gotten that far in Defense, is _Protego_. Now, one, two, three-"

"_**PROTEGO**_**!**"

--

A half hour into their first lesson, and Ryou knew that something was wrong. Normally, he wouldn't judge his learning by the progress of others, but when Daniel Boot, Mokuba (both first years), and Dennis Creevey (a second year) were able to get their wands to do more than his own, then something was off. He shot Yuugi a glance, and the teen seemed to be at a level comparable to Neville, who seemed to be a good measuring point for those who weren't quite up to snuff. Ryou frowned at his wand before attempting once again.

"_Protego_!"

From the tip of his grey-brown wand came a weak flicker of light, which faded a second later. He sighed, looking at the wand with disappointment.

"_Tarantallegra_!"

Ryou wasn't sure what happened. One moment he was staring at his wand, the next he was looking at Zacharias Smith attempting to Jinx him. The bright spell flew towards Ryou, and his hand lashed forward, drawing the shadows into a wall before him. The jinx struck it and shattered into a multitude of brilliant sparks. Ryou barely took into mind the startled look of the Hufflepuff before his own wand was forward, words falling from his mouth:

"_Everbero_!"

An explosion of violet light lashed out of Ryou's wand, and struck Zacharias, sending him flying across the room. He landed on a cushion, brought into the existence by the Room of Requirement, and lay there, stunned for several long seconds before he let out a low groan, shifting. Hermione rushed over to his side, while Ryou took two steps back, blinking at his hands.

"What happened, Ryou?!" Yuugi cried, and the albino looked over at him.

"He… tried to jinx me…." Ryou said, stumbling over his words. He blinked a few times. "I remembered that hex from the ones that Malfoy was talking about…."

Kaiba scowled over at where Zacharias was sitting, head between his knees. Harry was quickly winding his way towards the Slytherins, who were gathering several dark looks from the other students around them, Ryou especially. The white-haired boy winced, shying away from the main crowd and closer to where Yuugi, Kaiba, and Marik were. Harry joined their group while Ron and Terry Boot took control. The black-haired teen looked between them.

"Ryou?" he asked. Kaiba pointed at the blond teen across the way.

"Smith attempted a Quick-Step Curse on Ryou. Ryou blocked it, and then used a Striking Hex on him," the brunet said. Harry frowned over his shoulder at Zacharias, nose flaring. He then looked back at Ryou.

"I saw you having some trouble with the Shield Charm," Harry said, raising an eyebrow. Ryou cleared his throat.

"I… don't know why," Ryou said. "I mean, I cast the hex pretty well, no problem." Ryou looked at his wand, and stepped back. "_Protego_!"

The shield flared to life before the brown-eyed teen, and Ryou scowled, crossing his arms. "Well," he grumbled, "now that my magic is working again…."

"_Zacharias Smith_!"

The group of Slytherins and two Gryffindors turned around and saw Sally-Anne Perks march out of the crowd, green eyes flashing behind her black square frames. Zacharias winced, trying to step backwards and instead tripped over the very cushion he landed on and fell onto his backside. Sally-Anne bore down upon him, snarling and baring her canines like some sort of wild animal. Hannah Abbott, who was standing near Harry and Ryou, leaned over.

"That's why we call her 'Badger'," she whispered, "she always shows off her teeth whenever she opens her mouth." Hannah paused. "Used to bite people who'd corner her and her friends when she was younger. Didn't use magic to retaliate until she was at least third year. She's a muggleborn, you see, so it just wasn't her first instinct like ours…."

Harry was about to remind the blonde that he, too, would never had thought of hexing someone first, but was interrupted by the sounds of Sally-Anne still snapping at Zacharias.

"Don't think I didn't see what happened!" Badger was yelling.

"But, but, there was this strange shield he used-" Zacharias attempted to explain, but Badger growled at him.

"Well, yeah! Not all shields look alike, you know. And don't get me off topic! Mister Potter told us we were to treat the Slytherins well. You _deliberately_ disobeyed him!"

Harry looked at Hannah, raising his eyebrows. Hannah smiled. "She gets like that. She's given you her loyalty, and you'd practically have to kill her before she'd betray it," she said. "It's her best trait. She'll do her best to assist you, even if it hurts her in the process." She shrugged. "Of course, she tends to smother you while doing so, but…."

"…So if you do it _again_, I will hold you down as they hex you. You _know_ I will_._"

Kaiba blinked a few times before he smirked. "She seems interesting," he admitted.

While the rest of the group attempted to get themselves back into a semblance of order, Ryou secluded himself in a far corner, fighting the wave of panic as he stared at his wand.

"_Indeed. You will become unstable, magically and mentally. You may even cause your own death in a bout of accidental magic."_

That's what the Sorting Hat had said all those weeks ago. Ryou felt his hands begin to shake and he clutched his wand tighter, breathing deeply. _Magically unstable_. Was that what this was? Was it finally happening?

Ryou inhaled and exhaled, strengthening his resolve. If it was, Ryou would deal with it. Ryou turned back, holding out his wand. He had made his decision weeks ago, and he would stick to it. This was _his_ choice.

"_Protego_!"

He would rather go mad than cause the deaths of his friends.

--

Ryou remained silent after their first D.A. meeting, trying to organize his thoughts behind the curtains of his four-poster bed. Yuugi had talked things over with Malfoy, making up a lie about how the three of them had gone off to play a Muggle card game with Marik, and that was enough to deflect the prejudicial Slytherin from enquiring more. Ryou had then fled to his bed, unsure how he could face his friends while carrying such a secret in his heart.

The dark green of the curtains hanging around his bed reflected Ryou's mood quite well- the dark color was for his gloomy disposition, and the green for his growing nausea. Ryou sighed, closing his eyes and laying back on his bed. It was best, he decided, not to dwell on such thoughts. Because then his mind would take him to the small black backpack only a few feet from where he lay, hidden by Yuugi underneath his bed…

Ryou rolled over, curling tight into a ball. He began to count backwards from one hundred, feeling his mind already starting to drift off….

--

Ryou walked forward, looking around. It was bright, like the whole sky was made out of light. The ground on which he walked was covered with black, black sand. A wind whipped up, sending the sand billowing around and towards him. Ryou brought up an arm to shield his face, and saw that he was wearing a thin, tan shirt with holes in it. It didn't feel… foreign, though. It was like he'd _always_ been wearing that type of cloth. He dropped his arm and blinked through the light and black sand, and his eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Standing a few feet from him, dressed in a similar set of shirt and slacks, was _Amane_.

Her shocking blue hair fell in straggly, snarled clumps down her shoulders, as though she hadn't brushed it in a long while. She looked wind burned, her face was dirty, but her eyes were so bright and filled with life and love. She smiled at him for a moment.

And then she flickered, like she was one of Kaiba's holograms. She then changed into a short, white-haired boy with the same large brown eyes, the same wind burned skin, the same dirty face. The two images flickered and switched every few seconds.

"Big brother!" they said, speaking in English and Japanese and Ancient Egyptian, all at once, their voices twining and coming in harmony.

Ryou could not speak. So Amane did.

"Big brother," the voices said again, "why couldn't you save me?"

Ryou felt like he had been struck, and he attempted to move forward, only to find his arms were bound by the black sand, wrapping around his wrists and ankles and keeping him where he stood. He struggled against the binds fruitlessly. "Amane!" he cried. "Please, no! I'm sorry!"

Ryou gasped, twisting his head to look around. He swore he could hear someone's voice shouting with him, someone shouting in Ancient Egyptian….

However, his gaze could not be drawn long from his sister and the little boy. The two images frowned, pouting, tears in their bright brown eyes. "Why?" they asked again. "Why couldn't you save me?" The two children sobbed, tears rolling down their faces. "I didn't want to die, big brother. I didn't want to. Why couldn't you save me?"

Ryou jerked his arm harder against the black sand, tears rolling down his own face. "Please," he sobbed, ignoring the odd echo, "please, please, please, oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Amane!"

There was a second name, Ryou's mind numbly realized. '_Raia_'. Was that the little boy…?

The two children stopped sobbing and looked at him quietly. They wiped away the tears on their faces, but more still came, like tiny clear rivers.

And then the rivers turned gold.

Amane and Raia screamed, leaning over and clamping their hands over their faces. Ryou screamed too, tugging and sobbing and fighting and yelling.

"No! Amane! _AMANE_!"

A bright gold liquid began to pour between their fingers, staining the black sand beneath them. "Save me!" they shrieked as one. "Save me, big brother! I don't want to die again! You can't let me die again!"

Suddenly, they dropped their hands, their screams ceasing. They stared at the ground, gold still dripping onto the sand beneath them. Finally, they lifted their heads and Ryou could only stare in horror. What had a moment ago been a child's face- pure, innocent, and sad- was now marred beyond recognition. Their eyes had melted away, leaving gaping holes from which the thick, golden liquid trailed down their faces like a perversion of their previous tears. Pieces of their lips, tongues, and noses had begun to decay as their eyes had, dribbling off and down their chins in the same golden torrent. Ryou gagged but couldn't stop staring.

"Big brother?" they asked, shakily, as gold poured between their lips. They reached out a quivering hand towards Ryou, and the albino cried out again, pulling against the restrains, trying to reach them, touch them, _save _them. The children paused, coughing and spitting out gold, and collapsed to their knees. They turned their eyeless gazes back upon Ryou, their faces a carving of sadness. "Why couldn't you save-"

The children swelled, their voices changing into gurgles as more gold sprayed through their parted, decaying lips. And then they burst, spraying the sand and Ryou with the golden liquid. Ryou stared at the spot there his sister had been, where pieces of the clothing she and Raia had been wearing were scattered with splatters of the golden liquid on it, and felt the overwhelming urge to-

--

Ryou fell out of his bed and fled the dorm room, a hand clamped to his mouth, and made a mad dash to the bathroom. He barely managed to stumble up the stairs and burst into the bathroom before he emptied his stomach into the nearest toilet. He spent several more minutes there, gagging into the bowl and trying to clear his mind of the memories. He sobbed, gripping the sides of the bowl. If he had any doubts before, this night banished them.

Ryou was losing his mind.

--

**AUTHOR NOTES**: You've been waiting for it, I know you have. XD That _little_ conversation Ryou had with the Sorting Hat back in chapter twelve? Soon, my pretties, soon you _all_ shall see…! Oh, and, uh, _sorry_ for grossing any of you out with that last scene there. Oh, and I hope to see everyone at the forum!

**CHAPTER TITLE**: SEDITIO - _Insurrection_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ Ryou struggles with his ever-mounting instability, and the other start to take notice. But can anyone save him?_


	18. Amicitia

**STORY SUMMERY:** It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

--

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:  
****AMICITIA**

--

_**Last Time**_**:**_ Harry managed to create a new club for the student so Hogwarts to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ryou is losing his mind._

--

Yuugi looked over at Ryou, worry evident in his eyes. It was their third D.A. meeting, and it seemed Ryou's control over his magic was slipping further and further each week. Ryou couldn't manage to cast a spell three times in a row before the Neo-Magic would just cut out around him. Each time, though, Yuugi could feel a surge of Shadow Magic, and any lights near Ryou would shut off for several seconds. The white-haired teen, however, took it in stride, barely reacting when his wand, instead of sending out a streak of red energy, let off a loud _BANG!_ and spewed a stream of pale blue sparks. Harry, once again, found his way over to them.

"Ryou," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes, "between you and Neville, I'm never going to teach anyone else."

Kaiba, who had been Ryou's partner, scowled. "The wand movements are correct and the pronunciation is perfect," the CEO said, sounding more like Ryou was a malfunctioning machine than a human being. He strode forward, circling the teen. "I don't see what he's doing wrong."

Ryou frowned for half a second before his face blanked. He twirled the wand between his hands. "Let me try again," he said simply. He came to life, brown eyes narrowing harshly, and whipped his want to face Kaiba.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The wand let loose another loud noise, an explosion of blue sparks, and all the lights in the room flickered. Several people shrieked, scurrying away from the white-haired teen and his loose-cannon wand. Ryou frowned at the bit of vinewood, turning it over and inspecting it for cracks. Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead. He pulled Ryou closer to Yuugi, Kaiba, and Marik.

"Could this have something to do with your… _abilities_?"

Ryou shrugged a bit, blinking lazily. "It could," he admitted, "but I doubt it. Otherwise Yuugi and the others would have some symptoms."

Marik, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, frowned at him. "Have you been sleeping enough? That'll throw your magic sometimes."

Ryou blinked at him, and then rubbed his eyes. "I told you I haven't been sleeping well," he grumbled, aggravation seeping into his tone.

Yuugi frowned unhappily. "You also said," the shortest teen scolded, "that you'd go see Professor Snape about a Dreamless Sleep potion."

Ryou said nothing, but a spark of blue exploded from the tip of his wand. He glanced at it in shock, and Harry gave him a wary look. Ryou sighed, leaning his head back a bit to stare at the ceiling. "Fine," he mumbled, "I'll talk to Professor Snape tonight."

Yuugi grinned at him. "We'll stop by after the lesson," he offered. Then, he frowned. "Or, maybe we should leave early…."

Yami's voice flowed forth from the back of his mind. /Are you thinking that there is something more going on?/ the spirit inquired.

Yuugi kept a straight face, but inside, he allowed Yami to feel his worry. /He threw up last night,/ Yuugi admitted. /After he woke up from his dream. It's happened almost every night this week./

Yuugi was drawn back to the conversation at hand by Ryou nodding at him. The white-haired teen placed his wand into his pocket, and dusted himself off. Kaiba, too, put away his wand, and Yuugi quickly followed. Marik sighed, shaking his head, planting his hands onto his hips.

"So you're just going to leave me here?" he asked, but there was a glimmer of good humor in his gaze. Mokuba and Daniel both walked over. The black-haired boy spotted the trio of Slytherins getting ready to leave and sighed, looking to the ceiling.

"Well, I'll see you guys later, huh?" he said, and Kaiba frowned at him, reaching over and ruffling the kid's hair gently.

"Of course," Kaiba said. Mokuba smiled brightly at the rare act of affection from his brother, disappointment vanishing from his eyes. Yuugi turned away to hide his smile, knowing it would only bother Kaiba if he were to see it.

The trio of Slytherins slipped out of the Room of Requirement and made their way down the hall in absolute silence. Ryou was staring at the floor, his hands clutching into fists and then slackening, over and over again. Yuugi looked over at him, concern blooming anew in his chest.

"Ryou, are you alright?" the spiky-haired teen asked, placing a gentle hand on Ryou's shoulder. Ryou twitched, looking over at him in confusion.

"H-huh?" he asked, blinking. Yuugi squeezed his arm lightly, and Ryou closed his eyes, rubbing them with his other hand. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It's just… hard to concentrate."

Yami appeared beside Yuugi and looked Ryou over, his eyes narrow. "You seem… _off_," the spirit said. Kaiba arched an eyebrow.

"Really, Pharaoh?" he said, lips twitching upward. "You figured that out all by yourself?"

Yami scowled at him while Ryou averted his eyes and sped up his steps slightly. The spirit moved to hover over the CEO's shoulder. "Beyond just the physical aspect of it, Kaiba!" Yami snapped. He gestured to Ryou, who rubbed his eyes again to avoid making eye contact. "His… _magical aura_ is off."

"Magical… aura?" Kaiba said slowly as his eyebrows rose.

Yami huffed. "It's hard to describe!" he shouted, moving to hover in the middle of the triangle Yuugi, Kaiba, and Ryou had accidentally created. "I suppose it has to do with my close… relationship with the Shadow Magic. I can feel something… _odd_ about Ryou."

Ryou frowned at him, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think it could be because of my lack of sleep, too?" the teen asked, although he seemed distracted. Yuugi rubbed his hands nervously. Yami sensed this, looking over at Yuugi for a second before be looked away.

/Aibou?/ the spirit asked. Yuugi nudged him mentally.

/Something isn't right with Ryou. It's more than lack of sleep. He looks… _guilty_,/ Yuugi responded, and, while the boy took care not to show it, fear washed through him.

Yami frowned at him, leaning his head to the side. He turned his crimson gaze upon Ryou, who had gone completely silent. "Is there something you're not telling us, Ryou?" he asked.

Ryou was silent, mouth pinched into a thin line. Finally he exhaled shakily, and looked over at them. His brown eyes were so depressed, so sad, so dark, that Yuugi's steps faltered. Kaiba stared at him, wariness evident in his own eyes. Ryou looked back down the hallway, a bitter smile on his face again.

"They died on the fourth," he said, his voice hollow. Kaiba stopped instantly, and Yuugi inhaled sharply, also pausing. Ryou stilled, looking over his shoulder. Those same dark eyes looked dead against the pale skin. "It'll be the eighth anniversary of their death on the following Monday." Ryou looked away. "I've always gone to visit them on the anniversary of their deaths, but I missed it last year because… well, I'm sure you can figure it out. I thought, now that he was gone, I'd be able to see them…" Ryou said, his voice drifting off. Then he turned back around, and there was a smile on his face, one that masked the pain and devastation that had been there a moment before. "But I suppose not this year either," he said, and began to walked down the hallway once more, humming tunelessly.

Kaiba remained motionless, his eyes blank to the world. He then frowned and strode forward, quickly coming beside Ryou, and matched his pace. He couldn't say anything, not to that, but he could be there. That was all he had to offer. Ryou glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, but said nothing. A tiny smile appeared on the teen's face, and he looked ahead once more, still humming.

Yami and Yuugi remained a few paces behind them, both pale and shaken. Yuugi was wiping at his eyes constantly, but Yami could feel the self-anger radiating from Yuugi. It baffled the spirit.

/Yuugi?/ Yami asked, fading from the physical world and taking up residence in his soul room once more. /What is it?/

Yuugi clutched his fists, sniffling softly as to not alert Ryou and Kaiba to his emotional state. /We should have known, Yami,/ Yuugi growled, anger and sadness leaking through. /I mean, what other reason could there have been? He's _homesick_? He was cursed? Hexed?/

Yami's presence wrapped itself around his mind, comforting the innocent half of his soul. /No, Yuugi. We wouldn't have known,/ he insisted. /We know very little of Ryou's past, only what he has chosen to share. There is pain there, Yuugi. A great pain from an even greater wound./ Yami's voice was soothing and soft, and Yuugi felt the tears in his eyes fade away again. He could feel Yami's sad smile on his mind. /It will take time before he allows us to see it, but he will, Yuugi. Do not doubt that./

Yuugi smiled a bit, nodding, and then rushed forward, coming up on Ryou's other side. He gave Ryou a smile, which the other teen returned. It wasn't a happy smile, or an 'I'm alright' smile, but it was a smile nonetheless, and it heartened Yuugi.

Until Yuugi remembered that Ryou _died smiling_ during their first Shadow Game….

--

"Dreamless Sleep Potion?" Snape said, raising a black eyebrow as he stared down at the group of three students. "That particular potion is not often given to mere students because they have a few bad dreams," he said with a sneer.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, his gaze becoming icy and cold. Snape didn't bother to look at him, instead focusing on Mister Bakura, who, by the dark circles under his eyes, was the one who needed the potion. When the white-haired teen said nothing, the Mutou child stepped forward and drew Snape's black gaze to him. The violet eyes were wide and innocent, an odd thing to see on one of his Snakes. 'Innocence' was a rarity amongst them, as most of them were Purebloods and came with their sneer fused into their skin and their eyes lit permanently with cruel amusement or narrowed into a glare. How a child like _this_ could be placed amongst the others had lost Snape many hours of contemplation.

"Professor," the boy began, his voice soft and pleading, and Snape couldn't help but listen to him, "Ryou hasn't been sleeping well for the past few _weeks_." He shot Mister Bakura a cautious look, and the other sighed.

"Sir," Bakura said, keeping his gaze away from Snape's own, "you know about my past." It wasn't a question.

Snape nodded stiffly, crossing his arms. "Yes," he replied. Bakura nodded.

"Then you should know that the anniversary of my mother's and sister's death is coming soon."

Snape suddenly remembered that Annice and Amane Bakura had indeed died around this time of year. The fourth of November, his mind helpfully supplied. Only a few days after Halloween, the date that James and Lily-

Snape's mouth set itself into a scowl, and he spun around, marching to the back of the classroom where his cauldron sat. "I shall have the potion ready in an hour's time. I will send a house-elf with it to your room. Do not come back here."

Snape glanced over his shoulder, where Mutou and Kaiba both looked distinctly uncomfortable, though Kaiba had a better way of hiding it. Bakura, however, was staring right at him. The boy still wouldn't meet his eyes, which Snape was not sure about, but he was still staring at him. Snape glared back, and Bakura looked away.

"Yes sir," he said softly, and turned around, "thank you."

The other two looked between each other before looking back at Snape. Kaiba nodded, his eyes far less frosty than they had been before. Mutou smiled at him- not a cruel smile, but an actual_ smile_, which Snape was sure he'd never get used to- and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Professor. We knew we could count on you. Have a pleasant evening!"

The spiky-haired teen ushered the other two out of the room before waving back at Snape and then left himself, closing the door behind him. Snape stared at it for several long seconds before turning back to his cauldron, pulling up his sleeves, and flicked his wand. From the cabinets floated seeds and vials, and they set themselves on the same small table Snape used in class. He reached out and plucked a vial containing a red liquid and uncorked it, and allowed two drops to enter the cauldron. From there, Snape's hands went on autopilot, which allowed his mind to wander.

Halloween was usually a time of excessive joy and happiness to witches and wizards, even before it practically became 'All Hail the Boy-Who-Didn't-Die Day'. There was no thought that people _had_ died that night, and if there was it was quickly brushed off in favor of celebrating. Even amongst those who knew of the sacrifice made celebrated with them. However, those who could not appreciate a brief recess from the war, like himself, took to actively hiding and loathing the celebrations. He _hated_ Halloween with a passion. He was renowned for giving near-illegal amounts of homework over the holidays.

Snape briefly wondered if Potter enjoyed Halloween anymore, and shoved it away. Of _course_ he did- it was practically his second birthday. The brat's father, too, had loved Halloween and took to being especially troublesome for the entire school with his group of rascals. Now, though, it was merely a day of celebration for _Harry Potter_. Anything that put Potter on a pedestal was _great_ in the eyes of the boy.

Except this year Potter was _not_ at the top of a pedestal.

Snape shoved that thought away, too, and focused more heavily on his potion.

--

Ryou smiled slightly, leaning against the car door and resting his head against the window. The outside was bright, the whole sky made of light, and hills of black sand rolled past his window. He looked over at where his sister sat, humming under her breath. His mother was turning the knobs on the radio, but nothing but static would come in. It didn't seem to bother her, and she just kept driving onward. It was so nice, and so peaceful, and Ryou wanted nothing more than to remain there forever.

However, a tiny part of Ryou's mind was screaming in warning, yelling and crying. Ryou didn't understand, didn't want to, so he didn't bother. What was there to worry about?

Ryou turned, looking forward, and gasped. In the middle of the road was the young white-haired boy with brown eyes. It was Raia, dressed in his scraps of clothing. His mother hadn't noticed, too busy fiddling with the radio. Amane was still humming under her breath. Ryou opened his mouth to warn them, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak.

His vision blurred and suddenly _he_ was the boy in the street, staring as his mother's car bore down upon him. His mother finally looked up, and her brown eyes widened dramatically when she caught sight of him. She turned the wheel, hard, trying to avoid him, and began to spin out of control, just turning and turning and turning and turning and-

They stopped, still and dead on the black-sand desert. The three people in the car tried at the handles, jiggling them and hitting their fists against the glass. His mother had turned around in her seat, trying to get open Amane's door. Ryou couldn't see Amane, though, for Raia was sitting where he had before and was staring at him. He pressed a hand against the window.

Ryou tried to run forward, tried to move, but he couldn't. He could only watch as suddenly the car erupted into flames, and the screams of his family reached his ears. Their screams were cut off swiftly, though, and something began to drip out of the locked doors of the still-blazing car.

And golden blood began to run down the road….

Ryou found himself floating, feeling on the verge of consciousness. He struggled forward, trying to wake up, stay up, get up, and end this nightmare. But the Dreamless Sleep Potion snatched his mind and flung him back into sleep, somehow forgoing the nightmares that it was supposed to deal with.

_And_ Ryou smiled slightly, leaning against the car door and resting his head against the window. The outside was bright, the whole sky made of light, and hills of black sand rolled past his window….

--

"Happy birthday, Kaiba!"

The now-seventeen-year-old brunet glared sullenly over the top of his Daily Prophet. Yuugi, Marik, Mokuba, and Ryou had gathered in front of the table he was sitting at. He couldn't help but feel a mingling feeling of disappointed and impressed. He'd woken up rather early that morning and attempted to hide, and in doing so avoid the whole 'birthday' nonsense. Of course, though, they _would_ be able to find him hiding outside in the courtyard, wouldn't they?

"Hn," he grunted, ducking back behind his paper. So what if he was a year older? He still did more things than most people twice his age. Someone circled around him, prodding him in the back. He glared at Mokuba over his shoulder, and the black-haired boy smiled at him.

"C'mon, Seto!" he pleaded. "You don't have to do anything hard. We just wanted to give you a gift." Kaiba watched his brother scurry back to the group of four. He scanned them, and located the small blue package that Yuugi carried in his hands.

Kaiba stared back at the group, disbelief on his face. "You bought me a gift?" he said, annoyed.

Yuugi nodded, grinning. "We ordered it through a catalogue," he admitted. "We each chipped in, so it's from all of us."

"You shouldn't have," Kaiba said, and while the group before them knew he meant the words in their most literal sense, they grinned at one another. Ryou took the box from Yuugi and placed it in Kaiba's hands, smiling.

"It's only this one," Ryou said simply. "No one else knows it's your birthday, so you just have to put up with us."

Marik glanced conspiratorially over his shoulder and said in a soft voice, "We won't tell _anyone_ that you were actually born and not crafted from the clay of creation by Khnum himself. _Promise_."

Kaiba's lips twitched into an amused smirk on their own, and he finally rolled his eyes, looking back down at the package. With a sigh, he quickly tore through the blue paper and stared at the white box beneath it. With careful, trained fingers, Kaiba opened the box and stared down at what was within it. And Kaiba, cold-hearted CEO he was, grinned.

… For a moment, and then it faded away, leaving a blank face behind. Kaiba reached inside and pulled out a small, white dragon figurine. He set it on the table he was sitting at and looked it over. It was an impressive bit of workmanship. It wasn't the exact form of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but it was a white dragon, and its eyes were blue. Mokuba bounced forward, holding up his wand.

"And there's more!" the child proclaimed, and then twisted the wand in his fingers. "_Animor_!"

A spark of light blue energy streaked between Mokuba's wand and the dragon. Suddenly, the dragon's wings flapped and let it out a roar. It prowled across the table towards where Kaiba sat, blinking its snake-like eyes at him. It hissed, tail lashing about behind it. Then the dragon blew a bit of fire out of its mouth. Kaiba's eyes widened in shock and carefully hidden delight.

The creature, however, quickly resettled into its previous position and went still. Kaiba reached out and touched it, feeling the cool metal beneath his fingertips. Mokuba beamed at him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he said. He pointed to the tiny dragon with his wand. "There were some that could actually fly, but we figured that you'd want to keep it at home, maybe in your office, and someone walking in and seeing a flying dragon… not a good idea."

Kaiba looked up at them, blinking a few times. Yuugi was grinning brilliantly, and Marik didn't look smug, but rather pleased. Ryou's eyes had brightened, looking less dark than they had in weeks. Mokuba was practically glowing with pride. _That_ was what made the gift worthwhile.

"Thank you," he said, his voice calm, steady, and completely serious. Marik grinned, nodding.

"No problem, Kaiba," the Gryffindor said. He gestured to the castle. "Now, get up there. Our classes will be starting soon, and you don't have your Herbology stuff."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, picking up the dragon and placing it back inside its box. He'd have to learn some locking-spells, he found himself thinking, or anti-burglary curses. He wasn't about to let this fall into someone else's hands.

"You comin' Kaiba?"

Kaiba scowled and closed up the box before striding after the group. Maybe he'd look up a particularly nasty hex for Marik first….

--

"Alright, so, did Professor Vector say that the number of the _day_ was necessary to predicting the time of birth, or was it the time of day according Marbella's Stonehenge Theory?"

Kaiba frowned, flipping through his Arithmancy textbook and notes they had spread out over the table in the courtyard. He looked over at Ryou, who was gnawing on his thumbnail and scowled. "Stop that," he said sharply, startling teen into dropping his hand, "and it's the number of the day for predicting the time of birth. Marbella's Stonehenge Theory is used only in figuring out how long and painful labor will be."

Ryou's brown eyes widened and he smacked his forehead. "Oh, right," he said, and quickly scribbled something down on his parchment. He then looked up at Kaiba, raising an eyebrow. "Don't _you_ have any questions?"

Kaiba shrugged, gesturing to the paper in front of him. "I finished my essay," he said, smirking. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"I did, too," he growled, "I just wanted to fact-check." He scanned through another paragraph of the text and then looked up, grinning. "Did you finish your number chart?"

Kaiba stared at him dully for a moment before he set his quill down. "… Number chart?" he asked.

Ryou's eyes widened, and he took a quick glance at the sky and then back at Kaiba. "Yeah, we had to do a complete number chart of that list of spells she gave us. You… don't remember?"

Kaiba stared at him for a long moment. "I don't forget things," he grumbled, "I just don't do them."

Ryou spun around, digging through his backpack. "You can copy mine," Ryou declared. "As a fellow Slytherin, it is my duty to ensure that you do your best. Besides," Ryou peeked at him between the locks of white hair, "I think you'd have a stroke if you failed an assignment."

Kaiba scowled, but took the chart when Ryou extended it to him. He looked it over, nodding slightly. "For all the trouble you have with Predictionaries," Kaiba said, sneering, "your number charts are perfect."

Ryou blinked slowly. "Thanks," he said after a moment, "I think."

Kaiba shrugged, leaning down to copy the chart. "Take it as you will," he said. Ryou beamed.

"Then, thank you, definitely."

"Whatever."

Ryou went back to scribbling madly away at his essay. Kaiba glanced at him once, frowning. The white-haired teen looked just as bad as he had the past few weeks, even though he had taken that Dreamless Sleep Potion last night. In fact, he'd been up-and-down all day, switching between 'okay' and 'awful'. Kaiba wondered how the teen wasn't getting dizzy.

It was then that Ryou realized Kaiba was staring at him. The teen blinked, bringing a hand up to his face. "Wh-what?" he asked. "Something on my face?"

Kaiba blinked a few times. "No," he said and passed back his number chart. "Thank you," he said as Ryou took it from him. "We'd better head off to class."

Ryou nodded, grabbing his notes and papers and carefully arranging them before he stuffed them into his bag. "Good idea," Ryou said, jumping up. "After all the work we just did-"

"You mean copying off of one another?"

"-_Work we just did_," Ryou reiterated in a stronger voice, "I'd hate to be late."

Kaiba smirked at him, and grabbed his bag. He strode forward, not needing to look behind him to know that Ryou had quickly taken to walking beside him. There were some things that Ryou could just be depended upon for, and this was one of them.

--

He was just staring at Ryou.

There was a young boy with large, pale blue eyes and vivid white hair that seemed to glow against his tan skin. He wouldn't say anything. He would just stare. And stare, and stare, and _stare_.

Ryou wanted him to scream. Wanted him to say something besides just stand there in the middle of this glowing plane and stare at him.

After many, many seconds, or minutes, or hours, the boy's left eye began to leak blood. It flowed down the middle of his cheek. Ryou was sure that the boy would start to scream, like in the first nightmare, and gold would fall from his eyes, too. But no, the little boy just cried blood out of that one eye, and it only rolled down that one side of his face.

The light around them darkened as the black sand swept upwards, like a dust storm of darkness. As the entire area was engulfed in the pitch-black abyss, the blue-eyed boy blinked, and tears filled his eyes. Ryou stared.

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered.

And then a shadow with red eyes swallowed them.

--

Malfoy hadn't wanted to be found- it was partly why he chose the second floor girl's bathroom as a hiding spot. Mostly, he wanted someplace that he could rage and scream and throw stuff around without getting into trouble, since Moaning Myrtle was absolutely _amazing_ at making a mess of that place. The blond, instead, had reread the parchment in his hands and wilted to the floor, using the wall across from the sinks to keep from lying flat out on his back. He had come up just after breakfast that Saturday, and there was no way to tell how long he had sat there for. That, however, was the furthest thing from his mind, and he chose to read his letter again.

So immersed in the text was he, that he didn't hear the door to the bathroom opening and then squeaking shut. He did hear, however, the startled gasp, and looked up to see Ryou Bakura standing there, covered in some sort of purple goo. The teen, however, must have forgotten because the albino quickly crossed the room and crouched down, staring at Malfoy with large brown eyes. A bit of the purple goop was dribbling down his left temple.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Malfoy could only blink back. Ryou seemed understand, because he placed a hand to his head, pulling back the sticky goop. "Peeves caught me in the hallway with a large jar of grape jelly." He stuck a finger into his mouth and pulled it back out. He shivered. "Apparently, it was a jar that was going bad…."

He stood up, dripping a little on the floor. Malfoy, shaken from his shock, sneered at him, half-heartedly, and pushed himself to his feet. "Do you even know how to do the Scouring Charm?"

Ryou smiled, shaking his head a bit. "It wasn't on the third year test today, so…."

Malfoy stuffed the letter into the pocket of his cloak, glad to have a brief moment of distraction. "Close your eyes- it'll burn if it gets in there."

Ryou clenched his eyes shut and looked away as Malfoy flicked his wrist, wand seemingly appearing from nowhere to emit a brilliant _flash_, and then some of the jam was gone from Ryou's hair. It took several recasts before the jam was completely gone from the white-haired teen, but when it was over it left Ryou's hair limp and damp. Malfoy snickered at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh," the blond said, "you really _do_ look like a drowned cat when wet."

Ryou stuck his tongue out at him, but brushed the strands from his face. "Thank you for your help."

Malfoy waved his hand through the air, suddenly feeling the weight from before. Ryou stared at him, and Malfoy turned away, but not quick enough.

"What' s going on, Malfoy?" Ryou asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Zabini's been looking for you. This isn't like you…."

Malfoy looked at the floor before scowling, snatching the letter from his pocket and shoving it at Ryou. "I finally wrote to my father about what's been going on with that Umbridge woman," Malfoy said, striding away from him. "I got this in response."

When Malfoy looked over his shoulder, he could see Ryou's tired brown eyes scanning through his father's elegant handwriting. Ryou's lips pinched tighter and tighter together, and his already pale complexion went almost grey. Malfoy pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

"I know you know about my father's previous alliance," Malfoy said, choosing his words carefully. Ryou peered up at him behind limp bangs, and nodded. Malfoy continued. "He's… never really changed. But… he was in Slytherin… followed Slytherin's Laws… taught me to obey those laws before I was even in school…."

Ryou folded the letter carefully, holding it lightly in his grasp. "Now he's telling you to just forget it, that Slytherin's Laws mean nothing in the real world…."

Malfoy smiled humorlessly, looking at the dank bathroom stalls. "I don't know what to do," he said at last. "Slytherins take care of their own, Slytherins love their family…."

Ryou held the letter out to Malfoy, smiling softly. "You'll have to make a decision," Ryou said as Malfoy took the folded parchment from him. "You have to do what makes you happiest."

Malfoy's eyebrow arched at him. "Did you expect me to do something that wouldn't?"

Ryou looked at him, and Malfoy felt as though the white-haired teen was staring straight through him. "Yes," he said, brown eyes soft and sad, "I do."

Then, the teen turned around and left the bathroom without a backwards glance. Malfoy stared after him, holding the letter in his hands. Ryou was right. If he did what he wanted… but, his _father_….

Malfoy crunched the letter in his hand, pressing his fists into his eyes. He kicked out randomly, striking one of the wooden stall doors. It squeaked and broke off, crashing loudly in front of him. Malfoy didn't even look. Instead, he walked back to the wall he had been sitting against and allowed his head to thud against it. It hurt, but not enough, never enough, to drown out the strange combination of emotions in his system. What could he do?

What should he do?

--

They were drowning, and Ryou could not save them.

His mother splashed in the golden liquid, screaming at the top of her lungs. Amane was struggling to keep afloat, gurgling and coughing and sputtering up gold. His father, too, thrashed in the thick liquid, green eyes wide and horror filled. Ryou tried to move, tried to get over to them, but he could not, would not- his legs were not listening to him, they were not _his_ legs, it was not _his body_.

But they were _his_ family.

'_Please_, _please_, _please_, _let me move_, _let me move_! _Let me _go, _let me move_!'

Ryou screamed in his head, watching as Amane's head bobbed beneath the liquid a few times, her arms striking the liquid to keep it below her head less often, her mouth no longer screamed, she was so focused on merely _breathing_, her green eyes wide with horror and resignation as she slipped under one more time. She did not return. She had disappeared, and in her place were tiny bubbles drifting to the surface. And then they, too, vanished.

His mother went next, slipping under only moments after she realized her child would not be coming back. She merely screamed out one last time and just laid back and went away. His father struggled on for a few moments, trying so hard to remain, to survive. However, he could not fight fate and he could not fight the pull any longer. He disappeared beneath golden waves.

As his father's head vanished under the liquid, Ryou could hear laughing. It was ringing in his ears, dark and heavy. _He_- maybe he? Ryou could no longer tell- turned around and stared into bright red eyes.

It was his shadow.

--

Harry wanted to roll over and just sleep the day away. It was an understandable reaction on the anniversary of your parents' deaths, he figured. Harry was tempted to just have Ron tell everyone he was sick and would not being going to class. Of _course_, though, today there would _have_ to be Potions. Harry thanked his lucky stars (which, according to Professor Trelawney, there were sparse few) that Super-Happy-Fun Silent Reading Time with Professor Umbridge was over for the week.

"C'mon, mate," Ron was saying, "time to get up or you'll miss the pumpkin muffins."

"Stuff your muffins," Harry mumbled through his blanket, "I'm not hungry."

He knew that he should have been kinder to Ron, but it was first thing in the morning and he hadn't yet had the chance to clear his mind with Occlumency. Also, his dreams about doors and corridors kept his mind active through most of the night. Ron, however, seemed to know that this was not going to be a good day, and Harry heard him take a few steps back.

"Alright, mate. I'll see you in Potions."

Harry heard Ron leave him to his misery, and the black-haired teen wondered if there was anyone else in the room with him. He waited several more minutes before pulling himself out from under the covers and onto his feet. After snatching up his glasses, Harry could see that he was, indeed, all alone in the dorm.

Good.

He then plopped back onto his bed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. The whole 'clearing one's mind' idea had caused Harry quite a bit of grief during the first few times. It was almost like he could never truly clear his mind, never rid himself completely of his thoughts. He got close, but there was always something that kept him from getting there, one hundred percent. Fortunately, he only needed to _mostly_ clear his mind, and then his emotions- which had been close to choking him in their severity- would ease and become manageable. Harry didn't like to think about how awful this year would have been if his anger hadn't been tempered by the Occlumency….

Fifty minutes later, after Harry had cleared his mind, showered, dressed, and looked over his Potions Essay, the Boy Who Lived grabbed his bag and cauldron and made his way down the Tower. It took several minutes to get down the whole tower and into the dungeons, meaning he would arrive just before they had to start class, but Harry was not in the mood to deal with anyone that morning. He was saving his patience for Snape.

As he thought, Harry slipped into the classroom and took a seat next to Hermione and Ron just moments ahead of Professor Snape. He glanced at Snape as Harry dug out his essay on how using different wood-types could affect a potion, and immediately looked away. Snape looked twice as mad as usual, as though he was just _waiting_ for someone to do something wrong so he could kill them. Even the Slytherins looked jumpy, but that could be because Malfoy looked like he had gotten as much sleep as Harry had. If Malfoy was off, then the Slytherins were off. Snape turned around, slamming his palm onto his desk. '_Oh yeah_,' Harry thought morbidly as he looked at his Professor, '_this was going to be fun_.'

"Most of your Professors will be giving you an easy workload today," Snape growled. "Do not assume such with me. Place your essays in the middle of your tables." He turned to the board and began to manually write on the board, pressing far too hard on the chalk and making it squeak. "Turn your textbooks to page six-hundred thirty-four. Today we will be doing Kayo Concoctions, which will use both your knowledge of wood types and their effects, and how to turn a potion into a gas." Ron made a choked noise to Harry's left. Snape sneered. "We will be finishing these next Monday and testing them then. Do _not_," he said, glaring at Harry, and Harry didn't avert his gaze, "mistake your wood types, or else the potion will turn into a poisonous gas." He waved his wand, and more supplies flew out of the cabinets and onto the tables. "Begin."

"I've got it," Harry whispered to his friends, ignoring Hermione's concerned look and Ron's frown. Instead, he practically leapt away from the table, quick to avoid sitting alone with Hermione. He loved the girl, yes, but sometimes she just didn't know when to let it sit. _This_ was one of those things.

Harry could feel Snape's eyes glaring into him as he approached the table of ingredients, but he ignored him- he had to. Harry wasn't sure why Snape was so angry over Halloween- Harry's parents had _died_, and Snape had hated his father. Ron had once suggested it was because Harry had survived that night instead of dying with his parents, but Harry was not petty enough to think that Snape's whole world revolved around reasons to hate Harry.

Harry, also, didn't care enough to figure it out. Harry made sure to pick up the Camphor wood instead of the similar but completely wrong Cassia. If Snape wanted to be a jerk on Halloween, then he could be a jerk on Halloween. He didn't need an excuse for any other day.

Harry spent the dreadful hour-and-a-half avoiding Hermione by working solely on the complicated Potion, and Ron became his unwitting partner-in-crime with his panicked pleas for help from the bushy-haired brunette. After he put the Stasis Charm on the Potion and set his cauldron to the side, he fled the room before they could corner him. He was going to get it later, Harry knew that, but right now he wanted nothing more than to disappear until Transfiguration came around.

It was easy to make himself scarce thanks to the Marauder's Map. He had stored it away in his bag before he left the dormitory, and was able to avoid all contact with its help. Once Ron and Hermione had stopped running all over the castle looking for him and settled back into the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry put away the map and looked out the glassless windows of the Owlery. It was calm, quiet, and peaceful, even though the skies were grey and cloudy and the wind was blowing hard enough to put a chill in Harry's bones. He was considering sending Sirius a letter- Umbridge's hawks be damned- when the door behind him opened and Harry spun around in shock. Ryou blinked back at him, obviously as surprised as he was.

"Oh," the pale teen said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone else up here."

Internally, Harry seethed. Of all the places for Ryou to just stumble across him…! However, he smiled, though it was strained, and shrugged. "It's the Owlery. People come up here all the time."

Ryou nodded slowly, walking forward and to another window. "It looks like it wants to snow," Ryou said, glancing over at Harry. The black-haired teen wanted to just grumble and snap at Ryou that he didn't _care_ about the snow, or the rain, or _anything_ today. However, the words caught in his throat when he saw how absolutely exhausted Ryou looked. Dark circles lined his eyes and Harry, for the first time, noticed how grey Ryou looked. His mind immediately shut off the self-pity function and went straight into hero-mode.

"Are you okay, Ryou?"

Ryou blinked back over at him. He smiled softly before shrugging and turning away. "No," he said, leaning heavily on the wooden windowsill. He didn't look at Harry as he sighed. "There isn't anything you can do, so don't worry about it."

Harry stared at him, dread creeping through his stomach. "What do you mean? Nothing I can do?"

Ryou turned his head and stared at Harry, dark eyes narrowed slightly. He looked upset, but Harry was not sure if it was because of Harry or something else. Ryou jerked back towards the outdoors, pounding his fist lightly on the wood.

"My mother and sister died on the fourth," he said, voice shaky and angry. "I want to visit their graves, but I can't."

Harry felt as though someone had kicked him in the gut. He looked mournfully back at the grey skies. "I'm sorry," was all he could offer. He heard Ryou chuckle under his breath.

"No need. It's been years."

Harry felt the wind die down, and glanced towards the sky. "Sometimes we all need a little sympathy."

Ryou actually snorted, and Harry looked over at Ryou to see a pair of humored brown eyes gazing back at him. Harry blinked at him, and Ryou leaned his head to the side. "_You_ are giving _me_ a lecture on allowing others to sympathize with you?"

Harry flushed, wincing. "So, uh, you've talked with Hermione?"

Ryou snickered, glancing back at the sky. "Oh, no. Hermione… _talked_ to Marik, and Marik fled to Yuugi, and Yuugi talked to me."

"What about Kaiba?"

"Kaiba doesn't care."

Harry frowned, leaning on the wood and sighing awkwardly. "How mad was she?"

"Pretty mad," Ryou admitted, and Harry winced. "She's also concerned."

Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead. His scar wasn't hurting, but it seemed to have become a nervous tick in times of frustration. "I know," he grumbled, "but… I just need some time alone today."

He looked over at Ryou, and the albino nodded at him. "And I understand that," Ryou said. "I really do."

Harry considered the fact that Ryou, too, was mourning his family _and_ avoiding the presence of his friends by stealing away to the Owlery. He could only chuckle and shake his head. "I don't want to go to Transfiguration," he admitted.

Ryou smiled ruefully at him."McGonagall won't forgive you if you skip it."

"I know," Harry said, sighing, "but I'd rather hide than go anywhere."

"How courageous."

Harry snickered. "Actually, I figure it's my heroic side shining through. I'm just not in the mood to deal with anyone today. I'd likely hex someone than listen to them."

Ryou grinned. "You're better than me. I've been moody for the past month," he explained, and then rubbed his eyes. "You're off for a day, and can get on with your life."

Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead again. "It's not that. It's the Occlumency that's kept me sane for… well, since you gave me the notebook," he admitted. Ryou leaned his head to the side slightly. Harry shrugged. "It was a really bad summer."

Ryou rubbed his right arm, where the scars from the attack in Egypt lingered, dark against his pale skin. "Yeah," was his soft reply. Harry winced, looking away from Ryou.

"I… I'm sorry."

Ryou looked over at him, shaking his head. "It isn't your fault," Ryou said, smiling. It only served to make him look even more exhausted than before. "You aren't responsible for whatever Dictator Dark does."

Harry gripped the wooden railing tighter, clenching his eyes tightly shut. "I could have… I _should_ have stopped him…!"

Ryou snorted again, and Harry looked at the albino once more. He was looking at Harry with a dark amusement in his brown eyes. "You can't blame yourself for things that you _might_ have been able to stop." Ryou shrugged, glancing out the window again. "If you had been two steps faster, if you had been seven steps slower, if you had been paying more attention, if you had listened more, if you had been more careful, if you had asked for help, if you had been less scared…." Ryou smiled at the sky, which had slowly begun to snow. "There are millions of ways to alter one's past, when you know what's coming. But, when you're at that moment, when you're the batter and the pitcher throws a ball, you have to make a judgment call to swing, bunt, or do nothing." Ryou's smile tightened. "It hurts worse when you do nothing, Harry, and you could have. It hurts so much worse."

Ryou rubbed his eyes, turning to offer Harry a bitter smile. Harry could say nothing, his own eyes wide. Ryou nodded to him, pushing away from the window. "Happy Halloween, Harry," he murmured, and spun around and left the room at a brisk pace. Harry stared after him, swallowing.

"Happy Halloween," he said back, softly.

--

Ryou was running, and he didn't know why. Or, maybe _he_ wasn't running, but whoever his dream-self was. Either way, Ryou was moving across black sand, feeling the impact on his feet as he sped through alleyways of tall, stone buildings. There was no noise besides his own echoing footsteps, but Ryou could feel an urgency in his body, like he _had to hurry_, had to go faster. Ryou didn't understand. The buildings ended, and so did the alley, and Ryou burst from between them, and suddenly there was _sound_.

Screams bombarded his ears, and Ryou instantly pressed himself against the wall that appeared behind him, blocking his escape. Terror and instincts that weren't his filled Ryou's mind, and he automatically ducked behind a box, crouching low and pulling his tattered tan shirt up to cover his white hair. Footsteps raced by, and Ryou peaked up again once the sound had gone away.

'_Follow, follow, follow,_' his mind whispered, and Ryou did as he was told. Cautiously, he slipped from behind the basket and crept down the road. Ryou glanced around as he slunk in front of buildings, seeing how broken and wrecked everything was- barrels smashed, water spilled all over the black sand beneath his toes, fruit and meat in discarded piles, dead animals lay slaughtered in puddles of red blood. Ryou felt surprise- the only time there was actual blood in his nightmares was when they involved the blue-eyed boy. Could that be who _he_ was now?

He could hear screams coming from ahead, but instincts kept his pace slow and stealthy. Ryou's mind was whirring with sensory information that he could barely keep track of. '_Are the shadows hiding me? I could jump that wall if I need to- it leads to the river and I'll be able to get out of here. How far until the next section of cover? My feet are making too much noise- slower, longer steps. Is my hair covered? Not too far now. What are they doing in the village? Don't think about that. Thieves don't consider motives. Focus, focus, focus_!'

A maze of pathways of stone and sand later, and Ryou's carrier had led him to what could only be the center of the city. By then, the screams had died down and the sound of sloshing water reached their collective ears. Ryou remembered the noise, from his nightmares. He began to fruitlessly tug at his body's legs.

'_Please, please, we can't… we can't!_' he cried out in his head. The body wouldn't listen, and instead rushed forward, slipping into another alley. The sound of water and the scent of burning wood came upon them swiftly along with a coppery odor, and while Ryou wanted to take his body, this boy, away from it, he kept going. Finally, the two reached their final barrier- a section of wall that blocked some of the entrance- and the boy peaked out from behind the section.

Hands clutched tighter and tighter to the stone, eyes widening in horror, breath stilling in his throat- Ryou felt the body slip into shock. Before them, mere paces away, lay a pile of naked corpses, eyes still wide with terror, necks cut. Some were still dripping blood, others were pale and stiff. Men, women, children- none were spared, Ryou realized as he took in the horror through the eyes of his carrier. His gaze latched onto a familiar form in the pile of bodies closet to them, and Ryou felt such pain seize his soul, the tearing, killing kind that left one breathless and sick.

"R-R," his mouth uttered, a wheezing noise, "Rai-Raia…"

White hair, Ryou realized, there was a small body with white hair shoved in the pile. He felt tears rolling down his face, and he wasn't sure if they were his or his carrier's- it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Ryou looked through the smoke and horror to see a group of soldiers dumping a canister of red, red blood into a large, stone cauldron at the center of the town.

"You there!"

Ryou snapped around in fright, staring as a man pointed to one of the soldiers standing by the pile of bodies. The soldier jumped, too. "Sir?"

"Grab one," the older man said, "and start placing them in the cauldron."

The soldier looked at the older man, horror and illness clearly written across his face. "Sir, sir, please…" he covered his face with a bloody palm, "I can't… I can't do anymore…."

The old man's face was stern, but his eyes were still soft. "I understand your grief," he murmured, "but we must do this. For the Pharaoh."

The soldier nodded, sobbing, and grabbed one of the bodies by an arm and tugged it from the pile, dragging it like a sack of flour across the floor. Without ever looking it in the face, the man dumped the young man into the cauldron, which hissed and spat and let off a foul, violet gas. The soldier stumbled away from the cauldron, and the old man came forward, nodding. He turned around, gesturing to the bodies around them.

"Bring them forward!" he called. "It is time to create the Millennium Items! Time to fulfill our purpose for the Pharaoh!"

Ryou could feel his carrier simply steal himself away, latching onto the information that was carelessly thrown around. '_Millennium Items… the Pharaoh… Mother… so much blood… Father… the smell, how can they stand it… Raia…._'

Ryou found himself shocked when his host spun from the town center and began sprinting away. '_I'll make them pay_,' the boy was thinking, his anger and hatred drowning out his sadness, his horror.'_I'll make them remember what they've done. Make them suffer. The whole _world_ will suffer. They will all feel this gripping darkness, know death intimately…._'

Ryou felt his _real_ body stirring as the boy reached the wall that he'd noticed earlier. He paused, heaving, sobbing, shaking, and glanced over his shoulder. The city was still in ruins, the people were still dead. His eyes narrowed and the boy hopped over the wall.

'_All will know Thief King Bakura_.'

--

Ryou leaned his head against the mirror in the boy's bathroom, staring at himself. Dark circles weighing down his eyes, a grey tone to his skin, a constantly pinched-looking mouth- he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept for days. While not the truth, it was close enough with how often Ryou woke up from the nightmares that were plaguing him almost every night. Even his hair seemed tired, limp and ragged like someone had placed a mop on his head. He tucked a strand behind his ear and pushed away from the mirror.

Thankfully, Yuugi and the others had backed off about his appearance. They shot him concerned glances during meals and class, though. Even the Professor seemed to be overlooking both his morbid appearance and antisocial tendencies for the past week. Ryou wondered how long he'd be able to use the "I'm in mourning" excuse. Probably only a week more, and then everything would come apart at the seams- the anniversary of his mother and sister's death was today, after all.

Ryou clenched his eyes shut, gripping the sink before him tighter and swallowing the ache in his chest that erupted at that thought. Tears stung his eyes and he gasped a few times, trying to rein in his emotional outburst. His emotions were so close to the surface these days, clawing up this throat and strangling him often. Occlumency was worthless for him now- Ryou figured his mind was becoming too unstable for the Neo-Magic to have much effect on him. In fact, Neo-Magic in general seemed to be hazardous for him to attempt due to his magical instability. DA meetings had become nothing more than nervous glances thrown his way or pitying eyes soft with understanding.

They understood _nothing_.

Ryou splashed water onto his face, trying to at least appear _okay_ before bed. He had been able to slink into the Great Hall towards the end of dinner and pick at his plate enough for it to put up a façade of eating. Then he had left with Yuugi and Kaiba to their common room and stole away to the bathroom to put himself together. He had to make himself look okay- he didn't think he could take another night with the Dreamless Sleep potion, not when he couldn't wake up from the nightmares.

Ryou shook himself from those thoughts and instead focused on finishing putting himself together by brushing his teeth. Once that was done, Ryou took an extra moment to calm his mind. Straightening and readying himself to face the world again, Ryou exhaled and turned on his heel before marching out of the room.

The Slytherin Common Room was always a calm place to be, since the Slytherins usually came from noble or well-bred families. The few exceptions quickly caught on and emulated those around them, or else face being the outsider in the group of outsiders. Of course, being a Muggleborn in Slytherin practically guaranteed one would have an issue with fitting it. And being friends with Gryffindors, much less being friends with Harry Potter, didn't help at all.

Needless to say, Ryou and Yuugi were the outsiders of the outsiders of Slytherin. Kaiba was in a group of his own, of course, because he was stoic enough to be Slytherin but wanted nothing to do with anyone. So, instead of taking a seat in the common room as most others would have done, Ryou chose to return to his dorm room. He could feel the eyes of his housemates on his back, like the crosshairs of rifles just waiting for the perfect shot. _This_ was life behind enemy lines. Ryou had lived in such a place for over a year- he knew the atmosphere intimately. He fled down the dark, dim stairs to safety.

Ryou opened the door and stepped inside, taking in the scene before him. Kaiba and Yuugi were studying Ancient Ruins. Both of them looked up to see who had entered before returning to their previous activities: Yuugi was frowning, using his palm to hold his head as he browsed through their textbook; Kaiba was watching him, an eyebrow raised. Ryou leaned his head to the side.

"Problem, Yuugi?" he asked, walking over and sitting beside the spiky-haired teen. Yuugi sighed, turning back to the book and shrugging.

"I can read hieroglyphics easily enough, if that's what you mean," he grumbled. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and switched into Japanese for privacy. "On our last essay about the ancient Egyptians use of Neo-Magic, I had to play ignorant," he tapped his skull, sulking, "and I hate doing that." Yuugi eyed Ryou and said, "Yami's knowledge is mixed with mine, you know."

The albino paled, rubbing the back of his head. His own spirit had left him with _several_ skills that Ryou hoped he'd never need to use. There were, in fact, hundreds of different ways to skin a cat. Of those ways, quite a few could be used on humans. Less than a quarter could be used while the victim was still alive….

Ryou roused himself from those thoughts and smiled at Yuugi. "I'm sure the Professor Karv wouldn't think anything of you knowing a lot about Egypt. You're grandfather was an archeologist. You're friends with _me_, whose father-"

Ryou felt an aching throb in his chest, and his arms felt suddenly heavy. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself . He inhaled once, and looked up, smiling a bit. Yuugi's eyes were soft, and behind them Ryou imagined Yami was watching him, too- looking for any sign that Ryou wasn't as 'okay' as he claimed.

Ryou wanted to tell them- he wanted to explain, to scream, to do _anything_ but slowly smother himself as his subconscious tortured him with images that were his and weren't his. But he couldn't give this to Yuugi and Yami- he couldn't force such a burden on their shoulders and force them to decide between their friend and the lives around them. This was his choice, the only choice he'd made in a long time. He had made his decision. So instead of screaming and sobbing and bewailing to the world about how _Ra damned unfair_ life was, Ryou just smiled, swiping at his eyes.

"Sorry," he said, voice a bit hoarse, as though he _had _been screaming, "it's been a rough day."

Ryou wanted to laugh at how completely inadequate that statement was.

Yuugi smiled at him, clutching his shoulder tightly. "Yeah, we understand."

Ryou glanced at Kaiba to see the CEO watching him with slightly narrowed eyes. He wasn't quite glaring; in fact Ryou had never seen that expression before. He'd have to remember to ask Mokuba what it meant. Ryou sighed, rubbing his face with his hands, bending over his knees slightly.

"I think I'll head off to bed," he said slowly. He grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. He gestured to his four-poster bed with a wave. "I'll be awake for awhile if you need anything."

Yuugi smiled at him, sympathy oozing out of him. "Okay," Yuugi said. He paused, looking off into space, and Ryou knew he was talking to Yami. An irrational flare of jealousy and anger burst within him, but Ryou managed to swallow it. Life wasn't fair, Ryou reasoned with himself as he turned around and threw his bag onto his bed and began to undress. Some children smiled and played with their mothers, while others watched them die. Some children learned how to fight from their fathers, while others learned that _all_ love is conditional. Some children buried their mothers, others their siblings.

Ryou didn't look at the circles that scarred his chest from where the Ring used to slide into his skin, instead he quickly pulled on his night shirt and climbed into bed, shutting the curtains and hiding from the world. He cast a _Lumos_ charm and stuck his wand on the bed. The great thing about the nightmares was that it gave Ryou enough time to finish his homework early- the bad thing being it was usually barely coherent and required several revisions before Ryou felt it would do. He pulled out one such essay and a quill, and began to edit it.

The sounds of people coming up to the dormitory reached his ears nearly an hour later, and the loud laughter of his dorm mates disturbed him. He could hear Yuugi awkwardly chatting with Malfoy and Zabini about something or other, while Kaiba's grunts and growls shifted as he moved through the room and disappeared into his bed, too- Ryou could practically _see_ the scowl through the dark green sheets.

Very soon, the noise dissipated and Ryou was the last one awake, putting away his various essays. He pulled out a blank piece of parchment and set his quill to the paper, staring at it for some time. Then, his hand moved.

_Dearest Amane_…

Ryou found once he started, he couldn't stop. It had been months since he last wrote his sister- before he went to Egypt with his father and Marik. His last letter had been one to tell her about how the spirit was gone, how he was going to see Father, how life was starting to look up. Now, however, now it was all falling to pieces around him. The kanji were messy and a bit hard to read, but Ryou didn't care about that. His life was messy, so maybe it fit in some perverse way.

Ryou found himself spilling everything into the letter, about his father-_oh Gods, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect him, I promised you and Mother I would and I _failed_ and oh Gods, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me_- the school, the magic, the horrible dreams- _I know you didn't give them to me, I know you didn't, I'm not blaming you_- the evil mad-man called Voldemort, his new friends, and, finally, his ultimatum- _I may be seeing you and Mother soon, okay? This is what I want, it's what I have to do. But I can't do it on my own, I can't leave my friends with that guilt._

Eventually, Ryou succumbed to sleep and awoke the next morning, clutching the letter to his chest and dried streaks of tears on his face. Amazingly, he didn't spill any ink during the night, but did manage to smudge some of the not-quite-dry ink from the letter onto his pajamas and his hands. As Ryou attempted to un-wrinkle the letter, it came to him- he hadn't had a nightmare that night, and he felt refreshed, awake, _alright_. And Ryou smiled.

It was the last night without nightmares for the rest of the month.

Life wasn't fair.

--

**AUTHOR NOTES**: I need to apologize to you guys. DX I'm so sorry I took so long to get this sub-par chapter out. And it _is_ sub-par. You'd think that three important dates that fall so close together- Kaiba's birthday, Halloween (and, thus, the Death-Day Anniversary of Lily and James Potter), and the Death-Day Anniversary Ryou's sister and mother- would inspire some sort of awesome to go with it. Unfortunately, no. However, I can guarantee I'll make it up to you with the next few chapters.

_Quick note_- in the manga, Ryou sacrifices his life to save everyone during the Monster World Shadow Game that Yami Bakura tricks Yuugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda into playing. The last scene you see of Ryou before he dies is of Ryou smiling at them. It was… very sad. Of course, using magic, they were able to revive him, but still, I thought it was so very cool of Ryou to die like that, just to make sure his friends knew it was okay.

Don't forget to come and check out _The Hogwarts Library_ Forum!

**CHAPTER TITLE**: AMICITIA - _Friendship_

_**NEXT TIME:** It all comes to a head. As the Yule Tide Season grows nearer, Ryou drifts farther away. Can anyone help him? Or is he too far gone to be saved? (Song of Inspiration- How to Save a Life by The Fray_)


	19. Zeugos

**STORY SUMMERY:** Weeks had passed since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, continuing their plotting and plans. Of which one would complicate not only the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

**STORY WARNINGS:** Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (_Shonen-ai _and _Het_), **SOMEONE **_**DROPS THE F-BOMB**_** LATER IN THIS CHAPTER **_**TWICE**_** AND _A LOT_ OF ****'**_**BASTARDS**_**', JUST SO YOU KNOW**.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Harry Potter_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh_. I'm not making money off of this.

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**CHAPTER NINETEEN  
ZEUGOS**

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_**Last Time**_**:**_ Kaiba's birthday and several dreary dates pass in rapid succession. Ryou is progressively growing worse._

--

The sky was grey, the air was still, the ground was covered with snow, and it was bitterly cold. However, none of that could choke Harry's excitement- Hagrid had finally returned to Hogwarts a few weeks ago, and today would be his first day teaching the class after Professor Grubby-Plank. It was also the beginning of December, so talks over what the students would be doing during Christmas had begun to spring up throughout Hogwarts. Things were peaceful, and looking brighter.

Except for Ryou.

Harry glanced sideways, where Ryou was walking with Yuugi, Kaiba, and Marik. The teen had only gotten worse after the anniversary of his family's deaths, and he refused to talk about it. Dark circles were a constant fixture on his face, and his usually bright eyes were always half-closed. He had become nothing more than a zombie, Harry thought, and no one was sure how to fix it. During a conversation between Marik and Mokuba that Harry had eavesdropped on, he discovered that the teen was apparently experiencing nightmares every night and was refusing the Dreamless Sleep potion when it was offered to him. Harry wasn't sure how to take that. Did Ryou _want_ to have nightmares? Did he feel he deserved them?

Yuugi and Marik were sticking to Ryou like glue, like they were holding a net to catch Ryou when he fell. Harry, however, was sure that if he did fall, it would be in a million pieces that no one would ever be able to pick up. Harry wondered if it was even grief that was keeping Ryou from smiling or laughing, or if something else had taken hold of the teen. He'd have to dig through some Dark Arts books before the next D.A. meeting to research curses.

Harry's attention was dragged back to the class at hand, however, when the door of the cabin on the grounds swung open with a loud, echoing crash. Harry watched as Hagrid, covered with yellowing bruises and unhealed cuts, came out of his home. The half-giant smiled at the approaching class, waving a large palm at them.

"Good mornin'!" he called out to them, and Harry couldn't help but smile. Hagrid, although exasperating at the best of times and infuriating at the worst, had been Harry's first real connection to the wizarding world. This alone put the giant in a special place in Harry's heart. No matter what Hagrid managed to get himself, and others, into, Harry couldn't help but love the man.

Hermione placed her hands to her mouth, her brown eyes surveying Hagrid's injuries. "I can't tell if those cuts are new or if they're old…" she whispered. Harry shrugged lightly.

"I can't tell either."

Hagrid stopped around the corner of the building and flipped half a cow carcass over his shoulder. Ron let out a disgusted noise when blood splattered across the snow. The professor waved the class over with his free hand. "We'll be headin' inter the Forest," he said, and someone- Harry would bet his last Galleon it was Malfoy- made a choked whimpering sound. Hagrid smiled. "Not too far, though. Just so it's darker than out here, an' so there's less snow."

Hagrid spun around and began to march towards the trees, speaking over his shoulder the whole time. "Headmaster Dumbledore's allowed us to go in here and see 'em in their natural habitat. Reckon I have the only trained herd in all o' Britain, o' course…."

Pansy Parkinson, who was walking several paces behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione with Malfoy and his two goons, looked around as they breeched the forest, as if expecting something to jump out at her immediately. "Wh-what do you mean '_only_' trained herd? Aren't… aren't there others?"

Hagrid shrugged, glancing back at her. "Tend to be a bit temperamental if handled wrong. Course, most things do, though. Suppose it 'cause they're so rare- not too many can find 'em to train 'em, ya see."

Parkinson looked uncertain. "Probably because anyone who tries gets _killed_," she hissed. Hermione shot her a dark glare over her shoulder which the Slytherin returned. Hagrid, however, heard her anyway.

"Naw," he said. "Takes a certain kinda person to be able to spot 'em." His eyes were bright, like he was the only one to know the punch line to a joke just told. The once-scared murmuring had slowly begun to sound intrigued. Even Harry, who usually was apprehensive about Hagrid's creatures, found himself almost _excited_ about what Hagrid was leading them to see. It was a nice change.

However, Malfoy was looking on with barely suppressed horror, walking as close to Crabbe and Goyle as he could, and Zabini was the one leading their small group. Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Then he remembered that Malfoy and himself had been attacked by Voldemort in these forests (how could he manage to forget _that?_), which probably made this experience all the more horrifying. It was hard to pity Malfoy, however, since the prat had Charmed all Harry's quills to squirt ink in his face at random. Not even Hermione had been able to unCharm them yet. Wanker.

"What about your injuries?" Malfoy said in a slightly hysterical voice. "Did… whatever is it you're taking us to do that to you?"

While the Slytherins huddled closer together, glancing around, Hagrid looked back at them. "What?" he asked. "Oh, no! This was, er, something else." He chuckled a bit nervously. "It's another creature I'm training." Malfoy's grey eyes widened, and he snapped his head around, looking for the beast that could do so much damage to a half-giant. Hagrid grinned and turned back around. "No need ter worry. He's much farther inter the forest. Got 'im his own place."

Malfoy did not look overly relieved, but he did inch away from his bodyguards. However, Harry noticed, his wand was held tightly in his grasp. The class spent the next ten minutes creeping further and further into the forest, where the trees were slowly getting thicker and the snow was getting sparser. Ron tried to hide behind Harry, which didn't work due to the near foot of height difference. Harry assumed it was because the redhead was having flashbacks to the time they were chased through the forest by giant spiders.

These forests did not hold many pleasant memories for any them, Harry realized.

Hagrid slowed and then stopped, dropping the cow to the ground, and the rest of the class slowly came closer, pausing a good few feet from the bloody carcass. The half-giant wiped his hands on his shirt and looked over the class. "I'm going to call 'em in. They like ter know it's me. Normally, they'll just come 'cause o' the scent o' blood, though. These ones are trained to keep 'way from the students, though, unless we call for 'em. Now, er, watch the trees here."

With that, the man inhaled swiftly, turned to face the forest, and let out an echoing, shrieking cry that caused birds to scatter. Hermione gasped and Harry felt goose bumps erupt on his arms. Ron whimpered, looking around in sheer horror. Hagrid did it again, the high-pitched noise darting through the trees and into the air. Then the man stepped back, gesturing towards the woods.

"If ya start ter see somethin', raise yer hand."

"See _what_?" Malfoy shrilled behind them. Harry glanced over at him to see the blond leaning heavily towards Zabini. "_What are we supposed to see_?"

There was a sharp gasp nearby, and Harry's green eyes swung over, along with the rest of the class. Ryou's right hand shot into the air.

The white-haired teen, whose brown eyes were focused entirely on the forest before them, shivered slightly. Then Marik's hand rose, his own violet eyes wide and staring. Yuugi squinted, turning his head to the side. Then his own violet eyes snapped open wide, and his arm swung upwards. Kaiba, far calmer than the others, lifted his arm into the sky. A few paces in front of Harry, Neville's arm rose. A boy in Slytherin robes also raised a hand, looking on with a bored expression. Confused, Harry glanced where they were looking and inhaled suddenly, his arm also lifting upwards.

It was those horse-dragon-bat _things_ that pulled the carts. Bright, white eyes without pupils stared at him as it slunk forward and out of the forest; the creature paused a few paces away from the carcass, as if ensuring that no one was going to see it. Its large wings were pulled tightly against its body.

Harry heard Yuugi whisper to the others, and Kaiba's sharp, scolding tone rang through the forest.

"Yes, Mutou, those are the _death ponies_ that pull the carts!"

"I was just _asking_," Yuugi's slightly irritated tone responded.

Hagrid, meanwhile, was nodding, bushy black eyebrows rising and disappearing into his shaggy mane of hair. "Well, that's impressive!" he said. "Seven of ya in one class?"

Malfoy was whispering harshly behind Harry, and Ron was nudging his side at Harry lowered his arm. "What is it, Harry?" the redhead was pleading. "What can you see?"

Harry watched as several more of the creatures slunk out of the forest, letting off soft, cooing noises. The first creature to appear snorted and stalked forward, pausing a few feet from the dead cow. It turned its head, scanning the area and the people there, before immediately chomping down on the meat.

Parvati screamed. "What's eating it?!"

Hagrid swelled, reaching out and stroking one of the nearest creatures. "Thestrals!" he said before pushing the creature towards the meat. Parvati's mouth dropped open again.

"But… but…" she began to stammer, "thestrals are _very unlucky_! Professor Trelawney said that if you see one…"

Harry rolled his eyes, and Kaiba chuckled darkly, but said nothing. Hagrid smiled a bit wider.

"That's just superstitious nonsense!" he declared. Parvati's eyes narrowed instantly, and she huffed. Hagrid continued. "Thestrals have got a bit of a hard time 'bout 'em, but they're not unlucky. They're cleverer than most other creatures, an' have the best sense of direction. Won't ever get lost. Dumbledore uses them if he don' want ter Apparate."

The class seemed to switch its focus between the carcass on the ground- which was slowly being consumed- and watching the few students who could actually see what was going on. Harry watched as a smaller Thestral wobbled over to Pavarti, huffing and breathing on her hand. As it trotted back to the carcass, the Gryffindor shrieked, leaping back and against the tree, holding her limb against her chest. "What was _that_? _What_ was that?!"

Hagrid snickered. "Yer fine," he said. "They won' hurt ya. As… er… what's yer name again?" he called over to the group of four Muggleborns.

Kaiba scowled, and Yuugi quickly stepped up. "Uh, I'm Yuugi Mutou, and this is Kaiba, Marik Ishtar, and Ryou Bakura."

Hagrid blinked a few times before shrugging. "Yeah," he grunted. "As Kaiba said, they pull yer carts up to the castle. If they were dangerous, Dumbledore wouldn't let 'em near ya, would he?"

The entire class seemed to exhale as one, and Harry tried not to snicker. Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to his students. If he was willing to let the students near the thestrals, then there was no problem. Even Malfoy managed to detach himself from Zabini. Hagrid grinned, sweeping his arm out.

"Alrigh'," he said, "who can tell me why some o' you can see them, an' some can't?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air. Hagrid beamed at her. "Hermione?"

"Thestrals," she began, breathing deeply, "can only be seen by those who have seen death."

Hagrid grinned, nodding his shaggy his head. "Exactly, Hermione! Ten points ta Gryffindor!" Hagrid settled back, turning slightly towards one of the thestrals. "Now, some things ta know about these here thestrals -"

"_Hem, hem_."

The class, so enthused with watching the carcass and Hagrid, jumped and turned to look in the direction they had come from. Standing a few feet away, dressed in her green hat and cloak and wielding a clipboard, was Professor Umbridge with a sinister smile across her face. Hagrid, who Harry assumed was unable to see '_sinister_', '_dangerous_', or '_deadly_', grinned back at her.

"Oh, hello!" he called, waving at her. "Glad ta see ya found where we were alrigh'!"

Umbridge was gazing directly at him, tapping the tip of her quill against her clipboard. Hagrid's smile faltered a bit, and only then did Umbridge trot forward, winding around students. "I found your note," she said, slowly and loudly, and Harry seethed, "taped to your door. I take it you found _my_ notice about the inspection?"

Hagrid's eyebrows furrowed, frowning. He gave Umbridge a confused look before shaking his head. "Er, yeah," he said. "We're doin', uh, thestrals today-"

"What?" Umbridge called, leaning forward and cupping her ear. Neville, who was standing next to her, gave her a look that seemed to combat between bewilderment and disgust. Hagrid was merely bewildered.

"Th-_thestrals_!" he called. He flapped his arms for a few seconds. "Ya know, the winged horses? Only seen by those tha' seen death?"

Umbridge stared at him, her lips twitching. She then went to her clipboard, mumbling something that made Neville's normally kind eyes darken. Hagrid watched her for a minute longer before turning back to the class. "Uh, anyway…"

He reached over and stroked a nearby thestral, and Harry watched at the milky eyes closed halfway. Hagrid grinned. "When we first started out, we had one male an' five females. This one here's got a special place in my heart. He's Tenebrus, firs' born in the forest-"

"Are you aware," Umbridge interrupted again, and this time several Gryffindors shot her a dark glare, "that the Ministry has classified thestrals as dangerous?"

Hagrid frowned at her for a moment. "Uh," he began, blinking, "I know what the Ministry classifies 'em as, yeah. O' course, Headmaster Dumbledore trusts that these ones are tame." Hagrid's eyes brightened. "'Sides, thestrals are scavengers by nature. Death attracts 'em, ya see."

Umbridge pursed her lips, and scribbled something more onto her clipboard. "Headmaster Dumbledore has placed his trust in your capabilities has a handler before," she said. Her dark eyes narrowed when she looked up at him. "One of your students was attacked by a hippogriff, correct?"

Hagrid seemed stunned, and he blinked quickly at the woman before him. Umbridge smiled again. Harry's mouth opened swiftly, but Ron elbowed him in the gut, winding him. While Harry bent over to regain his breath, Umbridge looked through the class, and her eyes zeroed in on Malfoy, who was staring at his feet.

"If I am correct, it was you Mister Malfoy?" she asked sweetly. Slowly, she began to walk towards him, the pink feather on her quill swishing back and forth. Malfoy glanced up at her, face carefully schooled blank. Harry regained his breath and watched with narrowed eyes as Umbridge paused only a foot from where Malfoy and his cronies had gathered.

"It was," Malfoy said. He looked at his right arm before clearing his throat and looking purposefully away. The rest of the class looked at one another, and Harry felt completely out of sorts. This was the perfect opportunity for Malfoy to bury Hagrid. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Well?" Umbridge asked eagerly. "What happened?" Harry watched, transfixed, as Umbridge attempted to move even closer to Malfoy. Malfoy merely took a step backwards, looking cool and collected all the while. His eyes, however, were narrow and dangerous. Harry recognized it from the many looks Malfoy would send _him_.

"Professor Hagrid was pardoned," Malfoy began, lifting his head and glaring down his nose at the woman before him, "because the beast was _obviously_ unstable, and this _is_ Care of Magical Creatures." He lowered his nose, his face going from regal to bored in a split second. He blinked at Umbridge. "We cannot be guaranteed our safety when working with these… _animals_."

Malfoy then turned away from a gaping Umbridge and stared expectantly at Hagrid. "Professor, are there uses for thestral parts in potions?"

Harry wondered who drugged him this morning, because this was _not happening_. Hagrid was staring at the pointy-faced Slytherin with a mixture of fascination and gratefulness. He shook his head and grinned. "Yeah, they can! The best Invisibility Potions use thestral blood in 'em. You can ask Professor Snape about tha'- he'll be getting' a new load sometime in the week, actually!"

Malfoy nodded, not even glancing at the seething High Inquisitor beside him. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione, and saw the same expression of shock there. Ron kept trying to speak, but his words seemed to have slipped away from him completely, causing his mouth to open and shut uselessly. Hermione kept shaking her head, but her mouth had jumped into a small smile.

Hagrid resettled into his lesson while Umbridge sulked in the back of the class. The rest of the hour passed quickly, something unheard of for the class whenever Hagrid was teaching. When it came to a close, Umbridge slunk away, scribbling on her clipboard. As the Slytherins and Gryffindors made their way towards the castle for lunch, Harry caught sight of Malfoy slinking along in the corner of his eye.

Malfoy was walking with just Zabini, which was odd. The other Slytherins were giving him a wide berth, as if they weren't sure how to take Malfoy's outburst. Even Crabbe and Goyle had retreated to stand by Parkinson and Nott. This could be his only chance to talk with him, Harry realized, and steeled himself.

"Malfoy!" he called. The pale-haired teen halted, glancing over his shoulder at Harry. Malfoy's eyes narrowed, and he leaned back a bit. Zabini paused by his left, a half-step behind him. Ron and Hermione stopped suddenly, staring at Harry.

"Mate," Ron said urgently, "what are you _doing_?"

Harry waved him down and strode forward, keeping his hands at his sides. The Slytherin in question crossed his arms.

"Oh Merlin," he grumbled, eyeing Zabini, "the whole Potter Squad is here." He smirked at Harry, tilting his head to the side slightly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "After what happened in class and you're still going to ask me that?" Malfoy scowled, and Harry continued. "I wanted to thank you."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and glared at Harry. "Shut up," he snapped, and Harry's lips quirked into an amused smile. "I didn't do it for you, or for the great oaf." He sneered when Harry's eyes darkened, and Ron's face reddened. "I did it for _me_," he admitted, glancing around. The yard had emptied of students by then, leaving them completely alone. Malfoy turned his gaze upon Harry again. "Umbridge is a bloody Hufflepuff," he growled, "and my Slytherins are starting to look to _her_ instead of Professor Snape." He glanced at Zabini. "She's toxic, and her ideals are corrupting them. I had to do it. So _don't_," Malfoy hissed, stepping forward and pointing a finger at Harry, "bloody _thank me_ like I did it for you."

Harry watched him for a moment, staring at his finger. Then he looked up at Malfoy over the frames of his glasses, his eyebrow rising. "I wanted to thank you," he said slowly, "for standing up for our mutual friends."

Malfoy blinked a few times, his hand slowly dropping. He then smirked, nodding. "They're Slytherins, all of them," he said. "We watch out for our own."

Harry nodded. "That's all I wanted to say. Thank you, Malfoy."

Malfoy eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept smirking. "You're welcome, Potter."

Harry spun back around, heading back to where Ron and Hermione had paused. Ron was staring at Harry like there were millions of spiders crawling all over his face. Hermione was frowning at him, but her eyes were focused over Harry's shoulder, at Malfoy and Zabini. Ron grabbed his sleeve when Harry came close enough. "What are you thinking? It's _Malfoy_!"

Harry smiled, nodding. "He is," Harry chirped, moving out of Ron's gasp, "and that's why I'm giving him positive reinforcement for good behavior."

Hermione placed her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Ron looked confused. "Um… huh?"

Hermione grabbed his shoulder and steered him towards the castle. "I'll explain it to you once we get inside and have some lunch."

Ron perked up at the mention of food, and was willingly led. Harry watched them walk for several seconds, frowning. He looked back at where Malfoy and Zabini, too, were slowly making their way back to the castle. He saw that Malfoy was staring back at him.

So Harry smiled.

--

Severus Snape was not the most sociable person within the castle walls, but for the past three weeks Snape had taken to actively avoiding all the other members of staff. This was why the Potions Professor had holed himself up in his office, even during meals. There were only so many times a man could hear, "Mister Bakura doesn't look so well."

Snape growled, stabbing a sausage link with his fork. He had heard that statement enough from his coworkers during the past few weeks as it were. No need to hear it in his own head, too.

However, once Snape's mind strayed to that particular topic, it couldn't be let go so easily. Ryou Bakura was strange case- Snape had seen his fair share of students whose families were torn apart by death for the Wizarding world was not a safe place. What with werewolves, dragons, imps, explosions, poisons, and everyday magical mishaps occurring, it was amazing that more students didn't end up in single-parent households, or orphaned all together. Even so, Snape wasn't sure how to deal with the white-haired teen.

Snape pushed his empty plate away and stood, heading to where his cloaks were kept. After that first time with the Dreamless Sleep Potion, Bakura had refused outright to ever take the potion again. While the potion was known for its addicting qualities, a careful regimen could be put in place to keep that from ever happening. However, Ryou was adamant- no potion. And Snape couldn't exactly force it upon him.

It was baffling.

Snape glanced at the hourglass on his mantle. The stream of silver sand had almost emptied into the bottom portion. With a suffering exhale, Snape strode through his office door. He glanced left and spied the last of the fifth year Gryffindors slipping into the Potions Classroom. Placing a fierce scowl on his face, he marched down the hall and threw open the classroom door with a loud _bang_!

As usual, every student was in a seat with their empty cauldrons sitting in front of them, flipping through their textbooks. Snape smirked- it was moments like these, where he _knew_ he was in control, that Snape had come to treasure during his time at Hogwarts. He strode forward, taking out his wand and waving it at the blackboard.

"Today," he began as the chalk began to scribble, "we will be completing our Growth Tonics. Continue where you left off, and I will return your essays to you." He paused, grabbing a stack of papers off his desk and holding them up. "While your scores have grown from the absolute drivel at the beginning of the year, I feel I must remind you that if any of you wish to move on to NEWT Potions, you will need to score an Outstanding on your O.W.L.s." He strode forward, shoving papers at students as he passed. "We are almost halfway through the year, and if most of you dimwits do not improve your scores, only a sparse few will make the cut."

Snape was always disgusted by the scores of his students, even more so his own Snakes. Very few of them ever passed on to his NEWT class. Very few of them scored over Acceptable, even. As Purebloods, they were used to a certain leeway in most regards. O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were two areas that they were horribly awoken in. Thankfully, his Godson, Draco, appeared to have an actual talent for the subject. He passed the O-scored paper over to the blond. His lips twitched in a friendly manner- for him- and studiously ignored looking at the scores of the next few papers he passed out.

The last table he walked by was Potter's table. At the beginning of the year, he loved saving it for last, because it allowed him a few moments to sneer at the Potter-child's horrible scoring. Now, however, he had to hand back papers that were scoring 'Excellent'. He had to watch the brat's face blush slightly when he caught sight of each green 'E' on the paper, had watch his green eye widen and grown bright, had to watch him duck slightly to hide his score from a prying Hermione Granger, whose own score was also an 'E'.

Had to remember another green-eyed student, who ducked and blushed and smiled when her Potions essays were returned with 'E's and 'O's on the top of them. Had to hear, "_Severus, look! Thanks so much for helping me out on that essay!_" ringing loudly through his ears. Had to see green eyes widen, grow bright, and glow.

Snape sped by the table quickly, gritting his teeth against the anger rising inside him. The Potter brat was just that- the _Potter_ brat. There was nothing in him that reminded Snape of Lily. Nothing.

Except his eyes.

Snape swung by the group of his newest Slytherins (and their tag-along Gryffindor whom had been adopted by his own Snakes). They were all watching him, except Bakura. The white-haired teen was flipping through his textbook slowly.

"As for you four," Snape began, "your Potion shall be the Wit-Sharpening Potion. Your ingredients are out on the side table. Begin."

Snape strode back to the class and began to walk between the tables, swinging his gaze between cauldrons. He paused by Draco, watching his Godson place the Solar Fig nettles into the potion too quickly. The Slytherin, however, quickly corrected his error by stirring the tonic counterclockwise twice. Besides Bakura, Draco had also been distracted for the past month, and several Slytherins had been talking about his outburst to Umbridge in Care of Magical Creatures.

Snape wasn't sure how he felt about that. His Godson was obviously thinking for himself- Snape knew Lucius had instructed his son to make an ally of Umbridge. If Draco was willing to disobey his father in that respect… Snape wasn't willing to think much farther on that thought line. It was one thing to stand up for one's Housemates (maybe even friends, if Snape could dare hope that much for him). It was something else entirely to go against one's family. It was too much to hope that Draco would turn away from the Dark Lord. Snape had given up on hope years ago.

Snape slunk down the tables again, this time heading towards the group of four Fourth-Year leveled students. Kaiba and Ishtar were both working diligently on their potions, and they were looking the correct shade of green. Mutou was struggling, but Snape felt no need to be concerned. Then he looked over at Bakura.

The white-haired teen seemed frozen, his fingers clutching onto a few oddly-sliced pieces of ginger root just over the cauldron. His eyes were wide, staring down into the concoction. Snape frowned, stalking forward and peering into the cauldron. Somewhere in the creation of the potion, Bakura had gone horribly awry- the liquid was a dark shade of molten gold. Snape pulled his wand out of his robes, ready to vanish it.

"Mister Bakura," he growled, low, "if you are not going to _pay attention_ to what you are putting in your cauldron-"

And then Bakura _screamed_.

Snape had heard many screams in his time, each of a different class or flavor. Listening to the wail that tore itself from Bakura's throat, Snape could only classify it as 'inhuman'. Bakura flung himself away from the table, his seat clattering backwards and to the floor. He rolled off to the side, curling in on himself. He never stopped screaming.

"Mister Bakura!" Snape shouted, kneeling beside the teen. He grabbed the shoulder nearest to him and shook him hard. "Mister Bakura! _Ryou_ Bakura!"

Snape's head jerked up at the sounds of chairs falling to the ground nearby. The other three at the table were already standing beside him. Mutou threw himself to the floor. "Ryou!" he shouted, grabbing the back of his cloak and tugging uselessly at it. "Ryou!"

Ishtar knelt down beside him, his own hands twitching, as if he wasn't sure about how he should touch Ryou, or if it would cause more damage. Kaiba hovered just over their shoulders, his eyes slightly wide and mouth pressed into a thin line. Snape wondered if that was his look of fear, annoyance, or concern.

"Don't touch him!" Snape snapped at Mutou, and the spiky-haired teen pulled his hands back instantly, violet eyes wide with fear. "He could have poisoned himself, and any contact with it could case you idiots to react!" Mutou stared at Ryou with even larger eyes. Snape scowled. "And for the love of Mordred, _get back_!"

As the teen's screams began to die off into softer and softer noises, the three students stepped back, but remained nearby. In the new silence, Snape realized that the room, itself, had gone oddly silent, and he snapped around. The rest of the class had stopped what they were doing and were staring at the rocking form of Ryou. Snape snarled at them, startling those nearest to him to back up.

"All of you! Out!" There was no movement. Snape's black eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "_NOW!_"

Suddenly, the students shoved themselves away from what they perceived as a mortal danger. Snape spun back to Ryou, whose screams had transformed into low, drawn out moans broken only by sobs. Snape stood, looking at the potion Ryou had created. How had Ryou managed to turn the potion that color in the first place?

"Professor?"

Snape jerked around, spying a small gathering of students by the door. He recognized Potter's blasted crew, as well as the three other new-comers. Draco and Zabini stood there, too. Snape growled. Granger cleared her throat and spoke.

"Sir, should we get Madam Pomfrey?"

Snape scowled at her. "Yes, Miss Granger. Now all of you _leave_!"

He didn't watch, not truly caring if they left or not. He knelt once more beside Ryou, examining the teen for any signs of ingestion or trauma. He squeezed the teen's shoulder gently. "Mister Bakura," he said, "can you hear me?"

Ryou began to speak at once, but not in any language Snape could readily recognize. Slowly, as Ryou continued to speak, the white-haired teen's muscles loosened, and he eventually uncurled from himself. Just as the door to the classroom opened once more, Ryou's brown eyes swung around to stare at Snape's.

"Severus, what in the name of _Merlin_ has been going on?"

Snape looked over his shoulder to where the school nurse had rushed in and hovered over his shoulder. Snape stood and stepped back. "I am not sure, Madam Pomfrey," Snape admitted, watching as the nurse instantly took his spot and helped Ryou to a sitting position. "Mister Bakura appeared to have some sort of fit in the middle of class."

Ryou's face was still pale, and he turned his gaze downward. Madam Pomfrey had none of this and forced his chin up and used her wand to brighten the area around them. She inhaled sharply through her teeth as she took in Bakura's pale face and dark circles. "Mister Bakura, have you been getting _any_ sleep?"

Ryou finally blushed, and he shrugged a little, his eyes darting downwards. "I… not so much," he admitted softly.

"Nightmares?" the nurse prodded. Ryou stiffened before nodding slowly. Madam Pomfrey pressed her fingers against his face, as if feeling his bones through the skin. "Did you ingest any of the potion you made today?"

"I-I don't think so," came the feeble reply, as Ryou was unable to nod with the nurse's hands where they were. Madam Pomfrey nodded and stood, wiping her hands on her white apron before helping Ryou to his feet.

"Mister Bakura," she said, patting his shoulder, "fell asleep in class, and had a nightmare." Snape raised an eyebrow at the nurse. Madam Pomfrey leaned her head to the side. "There's nothing wrong with the boy besides lack of sleep, recent trauma, and too much stress. A few good nights on Dreamless Sleep should do the trick."

Snape glowered at Ryou, who was staring at his feet again. "I would have done _that_ weeks ago," he drawled, "had Mister Bakura not refused to take any more of the potion."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Ryou, and the white-haired teen quickly blushed. "It's just… that," he stumbled through his words, "I… like to wake up early, and the Dreamless Sleep won't let me wake up before six."

Snape stared at him for several seconds. "There are several different levels of Sleeping Draughts," Snape said. "We could have given you a lesser one."

Ryou smiled a bit. "I would like that."

Madam Pomfrey gently grabbed Ryou's shoulder and began to lead him out of the room. "Come on, we'll find a potion that fits your needs and make sure your friends know that you _aren't_ going to die. They looked quite worried, you know."

Ryou nodded, and glanced over his shoulder at Snape. "I'm very sorry for falling asleep in your class, Professor," he said. Snape scowled.

"Don't do it again."

Ryou nodded, and Snape watched as the two left his classroom. It was several minutes later, after he had placed a Stasis Charm on all the potions and was staring at the gold-colored potion of Ryou's, that he tried to recall if Ryou's eyes had actually been closed. He couldn't remember.

--

In that first Saturday of December, the morning came far earlier than the dungeons of Slytherin were used to. Kaiba, an early riser by nature, was already sitting in the common room with his laptop, finishing up some minor details for KaibaCorp. However, the pleasant calm of the morning was interrupted by a strange noise filtering up from the dorm rooms. It sounded like… _singing_.

Kaiba carefully logged off the computer and closed it, watching the door down to the dorms with a guarded interest. Sure enough, the noise began to rumble up once more, louder and clearer. Kaiba couldn't help the snort of amusement he let out once he actually understood the words.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing,  
__He cannot block a single ring,  
__That's why the Slytherins all sing:  
__Weasley is our King_."

Parkinson was the first to come up the stairs, backwards, using her wand as a conductor might a baton. Following were the rest of the Slytherin girls, all singing and giggling as they followed the girl into the common room, each dressed for the day.

"_Weasley was born in a bin,  
__He always lets the Quaffle in,  
__Weasley will make sure we win,  
__Weasley is our King_."

Following along behind them were the Slytherin boys, all of them singing as well:

"_Weasley is our King,  
__Weasley is our King,  
__Weasley cannot save a thing,  
__Weasley is our King_."

The only ones not singing (besides Kaiba himself) were Yuugi and Ryou, both of whom scurried quickly over to where Kaiba sat and stood beside him. Ryou was staring at his feet, which were tapping to beat, while Yuugi was humming under his breath, his eyes bright with laughter. Yami appeared next to him, leaning back where he hovered. A smirk was pressed to his features. Kaiba was sure Yami approved of this sort of mind game.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing,  
__He cannot block a single ring,  
__That's why the Slytherins all sing:  
__Weasley is our King_."

Kaiba's lips twitched into a smirk of amusement as finally Yuugi broke and joined in with the singing, Yami quickly joining him in the tune. Ron Weasley was their friend, yes, but Slytherin was family.

Nothing trumped family.

After a few more rounds of the song, the new Quidditch captain Siminus Montague held up a long arm and the House fell silent. He grinned, reaching around and grabbing Malfoy firmly and tugging the blond close. Malfoy's smile faltered a bit. "This," Montague called, "is the writer of that tune! _This_ is our Seeker. Three cheers for Malfoy!"

"Malfoy! Malfoy! MALFOY!"

Montague grinned, baring all his teeth. "Today, we're going to go out there and tear the Lions apart! Today, we will show our fangs!"

Zabini, who had wormed his way to Kaiba's side when Malfoy had been wrapped up in the one-armed hug, nudged Kaiba. "He gets a bit… melodramatic from time to time," he whispered.

Kaiba smirked, raising an eyebrow at Zabini. "Really?" he murmured. Zabini snickered softly to himself.

"Now," Montague was still talking, "thanks to the wonderful Isabella Craus, we have _these_ for everyone in the House!"

A tall, thin, severe-looking girl stepped forward, her head held high. She carried a large box in front of her, silver object glistening within. Montague released Malfoy to take the box from her, holding it with one arm. He pulled the crown-shaped object from within and handed it to Malfoy. The teen's grey eyes narrowed slightly as he looked it over before a large, wicked grin sped across his face.

"These are perfect," he declared, pinning it to his robes. Kaiba could see that, written across the front, were the words: WEASLEY IS OUR KING. Montague grabbed a handful and passed it on to a person next to him.

"Come and get one!" he called. After a few seconds, everyone in the room had a badge pinned to their shirt, even Kaiba and Ryou. Yuugi was holding an extra in his hand.

"It's for Marik," he said by way of explanation when Kaiba frowned at him. "I… I think he'd find it funny."

"He would," Yami declared. "Ron's snoring has been driving him from their dorm almost constantly."

Yuugi winced. "Oh yeah," he said, "I remember him telling us that." Yuugi frowned at Kaiba. "Are you going to get one for Mokuba?"

Kaiba sneered, shaking his head. "It's bad enough that his brother is in Slytherin. I'd rather not have him alienated completely by his House."

Yuugi rolled his eyes at him. "He's going to be sitting with the Slytherins today during the game."

"I know," Kaiba murmured. "I wish he wouldn't."

Yuugi patted him on the shoulder. "It's because you want what's best for him. Mokuba's just… well, he's _your_ brother. Are you surprised?"

Kaiba smirked. "No."

Yuugi nodded and began to walk towards the exit as the others in the room began to file out. "C'mon," he said to Ryou and Kaiba, Yami hovering alongside him, "I have to get some breakfast in me before the game starts!"

The group of four (including Yami) trailed after the rest of their House until they got into the main hall, where they quickly took their seats at the very end of the table. Only a moment later, Mokuba and, surprisingly, Marik joined them.

"I can't stay long," Marik said, sitting sideways on the bench and stealing a piece of Yuugi's pancake. "I just wanted to come over and tell you that you all suck, we're going to win, and Harry says 'hi'." Then Marik sighed, placing his head in his hands. "Truthfully," came his muffled voice, "I think we're totally screwed. Ron is either _really good_, or _really, really bad_. Ginny is an okay Seeker- she's gotten better, but nowhere _near_ Malfoy's level." He looked at Yuugi through his fingers. "It's like going into a Duel with just a bunch of level four monster cards. We're going to get _slaughtered_."

Mokuba shoved another bite of waffle into his mouth. "Why do you think I'm not rooting for Gryffindor?"

Ryou looked up from his picked-at plate and blinked tiredly. "Because Kaiba's Slytherin, and you always root for Kaiba?"

Mokuba smirked at him. "Kaiba isn't on the team, so I don't care. No, it's because I like to _win_. Thus, not cheering for the losing side."

"Oh, that's a bit sad."

The group all turned as one to see who was talking to them, and Marik began to choke on his third stolen piece of pancake. Before them, in all her glory, was Luna Lovegood. With a life-sized lion's head-hat on her head. The Slytherins down the table were also choking on their meals, and several were bent over in peals of laughter. The other Houses, too, were laughing at Luna's headgear. Luna, however, didn't seem to notice.

"Games shouldn't be all about winning, you know," she said, her eyes lifting upwards to stare at the ceiling. The sky was overcast, but bright. Snow was gently falling. "Games should be enjoyed because they bring us together." She smiled dazedly back at them. "I'm rooting for Gryffindor."

Marik smiled at her, his violet eyes brightening considerably. "Oh, thanks," he said. Luna nodded before her gaze fell upon Ryou.

"You look horrible," she said. Ryou smiled at her bitterly. She leaned her head to the side, and Kaiba wondered how the hat didn't fall off her head. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Better, now that I'm taking a Potion," Ryou admitted quickly, looking back at his food. Luna smiled again.

"Oh, good. Good luck, everyone," she said before turning and drifting towards the Gryffindor table. Marik stared after her.

"She's just a few cards short of full deck, huh?" Marik whispered softly. Yuugi nudged his shoulder, frowning at him.

"Be nice," Yuugi said. "So she's a little eccentric. We all have our little quirks."

A loud roar broke through the hall, making Mokuba jump and choke on his juice. Once again, the cause of the noise was Luna Lovegood, and it appeared her hat could also _roar_. Kaiba thumped Mokuba's back a few times as the younger boy tried to regain his breath. Kaiba was scowling at the blonde's back. "That's not a _quirk_," he growled, "it's a _hazard_."

Mokuba waved his hand at his brother once he'd stopped coughing. "It's fine, Seto," he said, voice a bit hoarse. "I think it's really neat. Maybe I can ask Daniel if he knows how she made it. I'd like a Slytherin one."

"ISHTAR!"

Marik jumped to his feet, spinning around to stare as Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were rushing towards him, looking irritated. He let out a whimper, looking to the ceiling, before rubbing his hands awkwardly. "H-hey guys…"

"Are you _done_ fraternizing with the enemy?" Angelina snapped at him. Marik winced, and he waved quickly to the group.

"Gotta go, see ya!" He spun around and stumbled towards the three girls. "Heeeey!" Kaiba heard him say. "So, let's get moving!"

Yuugi shook his head, laying down his fork and pushing himself to his feet. "Well, I have to get moving, too."

Kaiba glanced down the table, where Malfoy and the other Slytherin Quidditch players were rising from their seats. He then looked back at Yuu-_Yami_. Judging from the purple-and-red eyes, amused smirk, and the slightly taller frame, the spirit had taken over the younger boy's form. He stretched quickly before tucking the Millennium Puzzle beneath his cloak. At Kaiba's raised eyebrow, Yami smirked.

"I'd rather not have it beat against my chest," the Pharaoh said calmly, stroking the Puzzle through his shirt. "If I ever get off the ground, that is."

Kaiba watched as the rest of the Slytherin team walk over, and Malfoy tugged on Yami's sleeve, raising an eyebrow. "Let's go," he said, smirking. "And remember-"

"Weasley is our King," Yami intoned, lips quirking. Malfoy nodded, and the whole team slunk out of the Great Hall and towards the exit.

Mokuba made a surprised noise, and Kaiba glanced down at him. "Mokuba?"

"Seto," he said, leaning around Kaiba, "where'd Ryou go?"

Kaiba blinked, looking to his other side. Sure enough, Ryou was gone, and his plate had vanished. Kaiba leaned back, gazing at his brother with a frown. "How should I know?" Kaiba grunted. "And why should I care?"

Mokuba shrugged, turning back to his meal. "I dunno," he said. "I thought you were friends."

Kaiba snorted, rolling his eyes. "I don't have _friends_," he drawled, also facing his meal again, "only allies."

Mokuba grinned, rocking a bit in his seat. "Alright," he chirped. "It's not like I asked if he was your _boyfriend_ or anything."

Kaiba choked on his pumpkin juice, eyes wide. As he tried to control his breathing, Mokuba snickered at his waffles. Kaiba glared at him. "_Why_," the elder brother growled, "would you _ask me that_, anyway?"

Mokuba shrugged, stabbing a few pieces of waffle. "I dunno," Mokuba said, glancing at him. "I don't see you hang out with any girls, so it's like I can annoy you and ask if you have any girlfriends."

Kaiba blinked at Mokuba as the younger boy placed the forkful into his mouth. "Why?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, swallowing. "It's just what little brothers do, okay?" he said, smirking a little. At Kaiba's furrowed brows, he gestured to the Gryffindor table. "You hang out with the Weasley family and try not picking up a few things. Besides," Mokuba chirped, setting his fork onto his plate, "watching you choke like that was too much fun."

Kaiba grumbled, pushing himself from his seat as Mokuba did. "I still don't get it," he grunted.

Mokuba patted his arm gently as they both shrugged on their winter cloaks. "It's alright, Seto," he said softly, patronizing. "I love you anyway."

Kaiba scowled. The two of them walked quickly out of the castle and towards the Quidditch pitch, Mokuba tugging on Kaiba's sleeve to urge him to walk faster. "How are we supposed to get good seats," he boy whined, "if we don't get there quicker?"

As they came upon the edge of the field, Kaiba spotted Harry Potter lingering a few feet where the Gryffindor team's changing rooms were. Mokuba followed his gaze and sighed. "It's been really hard on Harry," he said. Kaiba looked down at him. Mokuba shrugged, still staring. "I mean, without Quidditch, he's practically thrown himself into…" he paused, sending a quick glance around. "Er, _Defense Against the Dark Arts_."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at Mokuba, amused. His younger brother frowned at him. "Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

Kaiba snickered and followed a group of Slytherins, led by Zabini and Parkinson, into the green and silver stands. As they were taking seats close to the front, Baddock, the second-year who had harassed Mokuba and Marik on the first day of school, looked over at Mokuba and grinned.

"So," he said, "what do you think of Gryffindor's chances?"

Kaiba frowned at the second year, while Mokuba shrugged, gesturing towards the field. "It's going to be a slaughter," Mokuba admitted. He leaned forward, tapping his chin. "We've got a new Seeker and a new Keeper. Ron's easily put down- one goal on him and he's as good as done. Ginny, however, is pretty good." He shrugged, looking over at the gob-smacked Baddock. "She's got nothing on Malfoy, though."

Mokuba crossed his arms on his knees, leaning towards Kaiba. "Daniel thinks so, too. Although, he thinks that if Harry was still on the team it might be a bit more of an even chance." Mokuba glanced at the snow covered field beside them. "Although, he thinks that Ravenclaw could beat Gryffindor, with or without Harry." He snickered. "I think he's just a little full of himself after Ravenclaw's win over Hufflepuff last month."

Parkinson suddenly stood. "Hey, look!" she cried, pointing to the field. "Here they come!"

The Slytherins (and Mokuba) turned in their seats and watched at the two teams exited their respective changing rooms. Parkinson hustled down to the front of the stands, grinning up at them. She looked over the crowd before her dark eyes fell on Mokuba. "Oh, hey, Kaiba-junior!"

Mokuba blinked down at the girl. She dug through one of her cloak pockets and pulled out one of the silver crown badges. She tossed it to him. "If you're sitting with us, wear it. Slytherins are a single unit."

Mokuba caught it and gleefully put it on. He smiled at Kaiba, who merely huffed unhappily. Mokuba simpered, nudging his brother gently. "Don't be such a spoil-sport, Seto," he chirped. "I love psychological warfare just as much as the next Duelist, or CapMon player!"

Kaiba sighed, shaking his head. Mokuba was only loyal to Kaiba, and was courageous (or stupid) enough to flaunt it. No wonder he wasn't placed in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. "I understand," Kaiba admitted. He then eyed his younger brother. "There's a song that goes with them. You'll have to listen to catch on."

Mokuba beamed at him. "I'm a great listener."

Kaiba nodded, ruffling his hair. Mokuba batted the offending limb away with a grin. "I know," Kaiba said.

As the players took to the skies, Parkinson raised her wand as she had this morning. She smirked at them, her dark eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Are we ready?" she called. The Slytherins rose to their feet, and Kaiba was glad they'd gotten a first-row seat- Mokuba wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. Parkinson waved her wand gently, and began to count in Latin, "Unus, duo, tres!"

On the word, the crowd erupted in a loud, engulfing noise that rang through the stadium:

"_Weasley cannot save a thing,  
__He cannot block a single ring,  
__That's why the Slytherins all sing:  
__Weasley is our King_."

Kaiba stood silently as Mokuba listened to the lyrics. His brother's eyes widened as he listened, shock and laughter fighting within their depths. Laughter, however, quickly won over and the next time the song restarted, Mokuba was singing with just as much gusto as Zabini behind them. Kaiba, however, merely hummed and nodded his head slightly. He was wearing the pin- what more could they want from him?

It was too hard to hear the whistle being blown, but it was easy to see the players dart off to their respectful places. Lee Jordan's voice rang through the stadium due to the Vocal Enhancer- but even _that_ noise was dulled by the singing Slytherins.

"Good day, everyone! It's Saturday, December seventh, and we're got ourselves a Quidditch game to play! Gryffindor versus those Snakes- I-I mean Slytherin!"

Several Slytherins paused in their singing to hiss at Lee's statement, but quickly rejoined the rest in a redoubled effort.

"_Weasley was born in a bin,  
__He always lets the Quaffle in,  
__Weasley will make sure we win,  
__Weasley is our King_."

Jordan continued. "Aaaand, Johnson for Gryffindor has the Quaffle, and she's just moving like a salamander through fire! What a player that girl is. And there's Slytherin's Warrington with an almost-low-blow, but she's ducked it, and she's passing Monta- oooh, ouch- got hit with a Bludger from behind by new Slytherin Beater, Crabbe… and Montague catches the Quaffle, he's heading across the pitch, and- _nice one, Fred!_- A bloody nice shot to the head by Beater Fred Weasley for Gryffindor!"

Kaiba's eyes traced the Quaffle as it fell for several seconds before Katie Bell swooped in and grabbed it. Jordan quickly returned to the commentary. "Bell's got it, she's got it good. And she passes- no, wait- _reverse passes_ it to Alicia Spinnet! Spinnet is flying down the pitch, dodges Warrington- nice _try_, you sneaky little-"

"_JORDAN_!" McGonagall's voice interjected.

"Sorry Professor, just got a bit excited. In fact, the whole crowd's excited. Just listen to 'em! … What _are _those Slytherin singing, anyway?"

The stadium quieted, and, as it did, the Slytherins seemed to explode with noise.

"_WEASLEY IS OUR KING,  
__WEASLEY IS OUR KING,  
__WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING,  
__WEASLEY IS OUR KING_."

"_What_?!" Jordan's indignant voice wailed over the stadium. "Why, I've, they _can't honestly _be- _Spinnet passes the Quaffle to Johnson_!" he cried. Kaiba realized he was trying to drown out their voices, but it was futile- the Slytherins were just too loud to be stopped. "And Angelina's going, she's going, she's dodging Warrington again, SHE SHOOTS- SHE- _awww_…"

The Quaffle was blocked by Bletchley's capable hands. He quickly passed it off to Warrington, their most aerobatic flier, and the Slytherins voices grew louder and louder as the Chaser approached the Gryffindor's hoops.

"Warrington is heading towards the goals! The Weasley twins can't get him with Bludgers, no way will any Gryffindor Chaser be able to make it in time! C'mon, Ron! Ron Weasley's the new Keeper for Gryffindor; let's see how he handles his first-"

Whatever Jordan said was muted by the sheer volume of the Slytherins' singing:

"_WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING,  
__HE CANNOT BLOCK A SINGLE RING,  
__THAT'S WHY THE SLYTHERINS ALL SING:  
__WEASLEY IS OUR KING_."

Warrington flew straight towards Ron before ducking left several feet before the hoops. The Keeper, however, fell for the feint, leaving the right hoop unattended. Warrington tossed it through, and scored ten points.

The Slytherins all stopped singing to scream, jumping up and down around Kaiba and actually managing to shake the stadium in their glee. Even Mokuba latched onto Kaiba's sleeve and tugged on it in his excitement, pointing out onto the field. "They scored, they scored!"

Kaiba chuckled, nodding his head. "So we did." He then turned his eyes across the field, catching sight of Malfoy as the blond took a moment to applaud their goal. He then quickly went back to his search of the Snitch. Kaiba smirked, and sang under his breath as his House took up the song again.

"-Ten-nil, Slytherin. Katie Bell once more in possession and she's just _powering_ up the field! Look at her go! Spinnet and Johnson are at her sides, their blazing their way up the field. Bell passes to Spinnet, who passes to Johnson, to Spinnet again, _dodges Pucey, dodges a Bludger from Goyle_, and-"

Goyle missed, but Crabbe did not. The large ball struck Alicia Spinnet and the Quaffle was thrown from her and into the waiting arms of Montague. The Slytherin stands erupted into a fresh set of screams, drowning out Jordan's commentary for several seconds.

"-Tague flies down the field, dodges Johnson and Spinnet, passes to Pucey. Pucey books it down the field, straight shot, passes to Warrington and get's _nailed_ by a Bludger a second later- good try there, George!- Warrington goes for the hoops, no one there besides Ron Weasley-"

Ron hovered too close to the right hoop, making it an easy left shot for Warrington. The Slytherins, once more, erupted into screams of celebration. "And it's twenty-nil, Slytherin."

Kaiba could already tell the game was over. As the game neared fifty minutes, the score was Slytherin, one-hundred ten, Gryffindor, thirty. The Slytherins, however, never stopped singing.

"And Spinnet has the Quaffle," Jordan's slightly weary voice echoed over the stands, which had become quieter as the time wore on. "She's moving across the field and-"

Mokuba jumped, his arm pointing outward. "Hey, hey, look at Malfoy!"

The Slytherins all turned and watched as their Seeker suddenly dove towards the center of the field. The Slytherins stopped singing instantly and began to scream, cheer, and call. Kaiba's eyes twitched towards the Gryffindor Seeker, Ginny Weasley, before returning to the speeding Malfoy- the girl was on a lesser broomstick and wouldn't be able to catch up. Malfoy swung upwards a moment later, a triumphant grin on his face and his right arm waving in the air.

"And Malfoy has the Snitch," Jordan said, barely heard over the screams and singing of Slytherin. "That makes this game three hundred-ten to thirty, Slytherin."

The usually put together, snobby, proud Slytherins had collapsed into a crowd of laughing fools, where hugs were exchanged with neighbors and jumping was encouraged rather than frowned upon. Slytherin had not one a single game against Gryffindor since Harry had joined them. Sure, it wasn't the victory they wanted, but it was a victory nonetheless.

The Slytherins continued their chorus as they marched down to the field where the Slytherin team was waiting. Mokuba and Kaiba lingered at the back of the group, waiting for Marik and Yami to get over to them. Yami and Marik met up on the way, Yami wearing a smug smirk and Marik slouching, but smiling nonetheless. Mokuba bounced in place.

"That was _amazing_! Did you _see_ that block Bletchley made twenty minutes into the game?! I didn't know you could _do that_ on a broomstick!"

Marik was snickering, nodding a bit. "The whole game was great, but that _song_! Who came up with it? Ya-Yuugi said it was Malfoy, but that's not true, right?"

Kaiba frowned before nodding. "Apparently he was working on it all week."

Marik shook his head, snorting again. "Well," he said, wiping at his eyes, "it was _classic_." He glanced over his shoulder where the Gryffindors were walking towards the changing rooms. He winced, gesturing towards them. "Uh, just letting you guys know… Ginny's pissed."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. Marik glanced between him and his brother. "At Mokuba."

Kaiba brows furrowed immediately, and his gaze snapped over to where the Gryffindors retreating backs were finally disappearing into the changing room. "Why?" he growled, snapping his narrowed gaze back at Marik. The Egyptian raised his hands in surrender.

"Probably because he's Gryffindor and he was singing along and jumping around," he replied. His eyebrows drew together and he frowned, running a hand through his hair. "I _told_ them that it didn't mean anything personal, that it was just a bit of Mind Games." Marik rolled his eyes. "Apparently they keep forgetting that 'loyalty' isn't one of Gryffindor's _many_ virtues."

Yami, who had been silent all the while, scanned the group quickly. "Where's Ryou?" he asked, eyes narrow. Mokuba shrugged.

"He left during breakfast. Didn't come to the game."

Yami frowned, eyes narrowing as he gazed towards the castle. Then he spun around and marched towards the changing rooms. Kaiba only waited a moment before he followed. Mokuba and Marik quickly raced after them, too.

"Yam- Yuugi," Marik called, quickly matching his pace, "what's going on?"

Yami shook his head. "I don't like this," he said swiftly. "For the past month Ryou has been completely out of sorts. Barely getting sleep, barely able to cast spells, barely even interacting. There's more here. There _must_ be more here."

Marik's fingers twitched. "It's… it's just lack of sleep, stress, and anxiety. Like was Madam Pomfrey said," the blond said, though his tone didn't sound so convinced.

Yami smiled darkly. "Then I will be proven wrong. With his new Potion, Ryou will quickly recover and be on his way. But," he paused, glancing over his shoulder at them, "if I am wrong, then I fear the end may not be so happy."

Marik faltered before nodding. "You guys can handle it right? I don't want to go down to the Slytherin Common Room unless I have to."

Yami looked at him as they neared the changing rooms. "And if you do?"

Marik smirked, but there was a dark gleam to his eyes. "Then pound on the portrait until it falls from the wall. I'll slay as many Lions as it takes to get out there."

Yami nodded and rushed into the changing room, and Marik quickly ran into his own. Kaiba and Mokuba stood a few feet away, staring at the doors. Finally, Mokuba looked at Kaiba. "Seto," he murmured, gripping the black sleeve, "what's going to happen to Ryou?"

Kaiba said nothing, staring instead at the castle. He then looked down at Mokuba, face stern. "I don't want you to come down there," he said. Mokuba's eyes flashed.

"But, Seto-!"

"No, Mokuba," Kaiba said stiffly, eyes narrowing. "When things like this begin, they never end well."

Mokuba frowned at Kaiba, but nodded. "I know," he said, "but that doesn't stop me from worrying."

Kaiba nodded. "I don't expect it to."

The brothers stood in silence for a minute before Yami came striding out of the room, Puzzle exposed and bright on his chest. Marik stumbled out a moment later, still pulling his cloak on. Kaiba gently nudged Mokuba towards the other Gryffindor. "Go with Marik," Kaiba said. He glanced at the castle. "And don't be stupid."

Mokuba smiled, knowing that was Kaiba for 'I'm worried'. "I won't," he said, and came to Marik's side. Marik saluted the two Snakes. "Good luck."

Yami nodded, and he and Kaiba ran towards the castle, leaving the two behind. He smiled ruefully at Kaiba. "Why," said between pants, "does it feel like we're heading into battle?"

Kaiba reached into his cloak and felt the Millennium Rod in his pocket. "Because we could be."

Yami frowned. "Common room?"

Kaiba shoot his head. "Dorm."

Yami nodded, picking up the pace. Kaiba easily matched it with his long legs. They passed several other groups of students, including a clique of younger Slytherins who called after them. They ignored them, and continued their rapid pace into the castle, flying by a group of teachers.

"Misters Mutou and Kaiba!" McGonagall's voice carried after them. They paid it no mind, however, and ducked out of the Great Hall and through the staircase that led to the dungeons.

They slowed as they moved through the maze of passageways, catching their breath as they paused in front of the stone wall that hid their common room. Yami gasped in a breath.

"Lineage!" he spat, and the wall slid open, exposing a roaring party already underway. Malfoy and the other members of the Quidditch team were still in their uniforms, reenacting a scene from the game. Yami barely took notice, and tried to slip by quickly.

"Mutou, Kaiba!" Zabini's voice called. "Join the party!"

Yami shook his head without giving them a backwards glance and Kaiba merely scowled at them. The two ducked down the stairwell, ignoring the pleading calls that followed them. They paused just outside their own dorm and Yami glanced at Kaiba. Kaiba frowned at him and jerked his head towards the door. The Pharaoh exhaled and turned the knob, pushing gently on the door.

For a moment, Kaiba wondered if Yami's panic had been needless- Ryou was sitting on his own bed, arms wrapped around his waist. He'd thrown off his own black school cloak for one of his blue-and-white striped shirts and blue jean-pants. The teen was staring at the grey stone wall between his bed and Yuugi's. Kaiba was about to glare at Yami when his eyes caught sight of what sat just inches away from Ryou, at the edge of the albino's bed:

Yuugi's small black backpack.

Kaiba couldn't quite catch his breath.

"Ryou," Yami suddenly said, urgently, as he walked forward. Ryou flinched, turning his head slightly, but never quite turned all the way around. Yami took a few cautious steps. "Ryou, are you feeling well?"

"I don't… know why I'm here," Ryou said softly, turning around and blinking rapidly at Yami and Kaiba. Kaiba felt the pressure in his chest ease a bit- Ryou didn't look to be wearing the damned Ring. Yami snatched the backpack of the bed and exhaled when he squeezed the cloth- the Ring was inside. Ryou blinked at the backpack, slowly. "I was at breakfast, and then I was here." He glanced down at his hands. "I had… _that_ in my hands…" Ryou shook himself. "I didn't mean to take it," he said sincerely, looking desperately at Yami. "I can't… remember… everything is… it's so… _dark_… so heavy…"

Ryou bent forward, resting is face in his hands, and began to rock. Yami took a few steps away, holding the backpack to his chest. Kaiba looked hard at Ryou before turning to Yami. "Get Marik."

Yami glanced at Kaiba and nodded. "Right." He looked back at where Ryou was sitting. "I'll be right back, Ryou. I'm going to get Marik, and we can talk about this."

Ryou moaned, shaking a bit. Kaiba stared hard at Yami and jerked his head towards the door. Yami slung the backpack over his shoulders and rushed out of the room, door slamming shut behind him. Ryou jumped, his head snapping up. Kaiba walked forward and sat down on Yuugi's bed, Ryou's eyes tracking him the whole way. Kaiba stared back, however, and Ryou jerkily turned away.

"I don't want to talk," he said stiffly, his hands clenching and unclenching in his lap. "I _can't_ talk about it, Kaiba. I can't do it. It's _my_ choice!" He slammed his fists against his head, causing Kaiba to stiffen instantly. He then reached out and gripped Ryou's wrists, frowning.

"Stop it," he growled. Ryou's dark, watery eyes swung around to look at him. Kaiba shook his slightly. "Whatever the _hell_ you're doing, it's not just about you."

Ryou tore his hands away from Kaiba and crawled backwards away from him. "Shut up!" he cried, running his hands through his limp, mussed hair. "Gods, I _have_ to do this! Can't you see?" he stared at Kaiba, eyes twitching across Kaiba's blank face. Ryou whined slightly, leaning his head back and rocking slightly. "I can't let you make this choice. I can't let you. I can't. It's _mine_."

Kaiba stared at him, but made no attempt to get closer. Instead, he pulled his winter cloak off and set it on the bed beside him. They way Ryou was acting reminded Kaiba of a temper-tantrum. In fact, Ryou seemed to have reverted to a younger mind. The mind of a child.

Children Kaiba could handle.

"Do you know how the Quidditch game ended?" Kaiba asked slowly. Ryou watched him for a second before shaking his head. Kaiba up sat straighter, folding his hands in his lap. "Then I'll start from the beginning of the game."

Ryou sat up a little straighter, the shaking easing away. Finally, a small smile graced his lips. "I'd like that."

Kaiba offered him a small smile of his own.

--

Harry had never seen the Gryffindor common room so quiet after a game. Of course, each time they had lost in the past, Harry had been unconscious due to either Dementor attack or fighting off two-faced Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors. Harry always remembered the common room after games as loud and busy and happy. Now, however, it was just sad, bitter, and angry.

The 'angry' portion mostly was coming from a single source- Ginny. Her temper was bad enough to send most sixth years running, but even Ginny could not make Mokuba Kaiba quake. Harry wasn't sure if that was bravery or stupidity. Either way, it was one hundred percent Gryffindor.

The youngest Weasley had been incensed since she had discovered Mokuba cheering for Slytherin during a fly-by of the stands on her search for the Snitch. When Mokuba and Marik arrived at the common room and the boy was still wearing the silver-crown badge, she'd erupted.

"How _could you_?!" she had railed. "You're part of _our House_! You're our _friend_! Why would you _do that_?!"

While Marik stood nearby, ready to intercept anything thrown his way, Mokuba stared at Ginny like she was speaking a completely different language. Then he shook his head and smirked. "I root for who I _want_ to root for." His blue-violet eyes narrowed slightly and he tilted his head. "I don't like being on the losing side."

Ginny's face flushed even more, and beside Harry, Ron had ducked down farther into his seat, as if trying to crawl into the cushions beneath him. Harry could only watch in awe as Mokuba slipped around Ginny and headed towards the dorms, Marik only a few paces behind. Ginny gaped after them before she growled low in her throat and stormed over to the chairs and threw herself into one, burying her face in her hands.

"Merlin, why do we _suck_ so bad?" she groaned. Harry forced himself not to glance at Ron- it wasn't his fault, Harry told himself, it _wasn't_.

"You've been thrown into a new situation," Harry tried softly, running a hand through his hair and trying desperately hard not to sound jealous of their ability to even _play_. "There's a lot of new talent on the team. It'll take some time to get all the kinks worked out."

Ginny glared up at him, and Harry instantly scooted back in his seat. Ron whimpered beside him in fear. She scowled and pushed herself to her feet and stormed away from the two of them. "I'm going to go calm down for awhile," she said icily. "_Please _don't disturb me."

She didn't even pause before rushing up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, where their other female Quidditch teammates were currently hiding out. The common room seemed suddenly very empty to Harry- Ron, Fred, George, himself, and Hermione- who was knitting a sock by the fireplace- were all the remained in the room.

Fred rubbed the back of his head, glancing at George. "Well," he began a shakily, "she doesn't like losing."

George nodded, looking back at his twin. "A bit hyper-competitive, that one."

"Not the only one in the family, of course."

"But she's the scariest of the lot."

Ron groaned, leaning forward and rubbing his brow. "I can't believe how _bloody awful_ I played today…" he moaned. Harry patted his shoulder gently.

"It's not all your fault," Harry reasoned. "They were singing that song. _I'd_ be all over the place if they were singing something like that about me."

Ron shook his head. "But George and Fred and Ginny were all _fine_. _I'm _the only one who choked."

Harry shrugged, smiling at him. "You're just not as thick-skinned. You'll get used to it."

Ron looked at Harry with dull blue eyes. "Yeah," he grunted, "before or _after_ I take my N.E.W.T.s?"

Harry winced. "You'll get it bef-"

Harry was interrupted by a loud, continuous thudding against the portrait hole. "It's me!" a voice cried from the other side. "I need to speak with Marik!"

"You will most certainly _not_!" was the equally muffled reply of the Fat Lady. "Now, _stop striking my frame_!"

Harry's brows furrowed. "Yuugi?" he said softly. He rose to his feet while Ron stared at his older brothers.

"I thought you said you blindfolded him!"

Fred opened and shut his mouth uselessly, and George's fingers twitched as he moved his hands through the air. "We did!" they cried in unison.

"He couldn't have heard or seen anything!"

"Nothing!"

Harry stood and pushed gently on the wall. "Let him in," he said.

"_What_?!" the Fat Lady squawked. "He's not in _Gryffindor_! I let him in once, and _now look_! Slithered his way up here on his own-"

"I _must_ speak with Marik, you Ra-forsaken picture. Let me by, or I swear upon the shadows _I will burn you_."

There was a strangled pause, and then the portrait swung open, exposing a harassed and angry-looking Yuugi still wearing his winter cloak, on the other side. He strode by Harry, turning his head slightly to nod, and paused in the middle of the common room, heaving. He threw the cloak off his body and it landed heavily on the floor. Yuugi stared at the five people in the room, red-on-violet eyes narrow. He drew himself up, lifting his chin.

"Excuse me," he said, and marched up the stairs to the men's dorms.

Fred and George blinked as Yuugi disappeared around a corner. "What the _bloody hell_-"

"-Was _that_ about?!"

Hermione had set her partially-done sock aside and stood, coming to the base of the stairs and look up at them. She glanced back at Harry and Ron. "There's only one way to find out," she said, eyebrows rising.

Harry rose wearily to his feet as Ron slipped off quickly, walking to where Hermione stood. "What do you think- _OOF_!"

As Ron stepped on Yuugi's cloak still laying on the ground, his foot snagged on something, causing him to fall to his knees. He looked back, wincing. "Ow!"

As he tried to detangle his legs from the cloth, Harry and Hermione came to his sides. Fred and George watched them from a few feet away. "Oh, you big baby," Hermione said, not unkindly, "you're fine."

Ron, frustrated, kicked out with his leg and struck something. Hard.

"_OW_!" he yelped, pulling his legs out of the cloak. Harry's eyes widened when he caught sight of what had wrapped itself around Ron's foot- Yuugi's tiny black backpack.

Ron stared at it, blinking a few times. Carefully, as though it were made of tissue paper, he pulled the straps from his foot, and held the bag at arm's length. He looked between Hermione and Harry, both of whom were looking at the bag, and quickly passed it to Hermione, aghast.

"_I_ don't want to touch it!" he whispered, keeping his voice down to avoid being heard by his brothers.

Hermione frowned, looking at the bag. She bobbed it in hers hands, as if testing the weight. "What are you so scared of?" she asked, looking at Ron. Harry shrugged, eyes narrowing.

"Yuugi said," he began, "that it was something they wouldn't talk about. Ever."

Hermione frowned, squeezing the backpack gently, and then unzipped it. Ron let out a shriek. "What are you doing?" he cried softly, eyes twitching up to the stairs and over to where his brothers were standing. Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes.

"It's just a backpack," she said, opening wider and squinting inside. "There's nothing magical about it. No hexes, no curses, nothing." She peered deeper and frowned. "Well, there's a towel in here. Tied to a thermos."

Ron, however, wasn't having any of it. "Oh no, it is _not_ 'just a backpack!'" he said pleadingly. "We're wizards! We do all sorts of things! That towel could be cursed, or the thermos could have a poison, or-"

Harry patted his shoulder before leaning around him to look into the bag as well. "I doubt Yuugi would carry around a thermos full of _poison_."

"He's a Slytherin! _They're all crazy_! You saw what happened to Ryou!"

Harry rolled his head before sticking his hand into the bag. "Yuugi had this before we even met him. No poison, Ron. Calm down."

He pulled a tan hand towel from its depths, frowning at it as he looked it over. It was wrapped around something flat and round. Harry flipped it over, and saw that duct tape was all that kept it from coming undone. Hermione looked at Ron, raising her eyebrows. Ron closed his eyes tightly before groaning, leaning forward.

"Alright, alright! Just, unwrap it quick so we can see. Then we'll put it _right back_!"

Harry smiled at him. "See? Not so bad. We're Gryffindors, after all." He picked at the short band of silver before getting a corner up. With a quick jerk of his wrist, Harry pulled the tape off stuck it to Ron's shirt.

"Hey! Why did you…"

Ron's objections died away when the three students caught sight of the glimmering gold beneath the towel. Harry quickly brushed away the cloth on top of the item, and stared, transfixed, at what lay beneath it. It was a ring of gold, from which five spikes dangled. A hoop, through which a thick rope was tied, was at its top, and the rope was then connected to the thermos. A triangle sat in its center. At the center of the triangle, was a familiar-looking symbol.

"This- this," Hermione chattered, reaching to touch and then pulling her hand away, "it's one of those _Items_!"

Harry started to feel less and less at ease. "Er, great," he said awkwardly. "Let's put it back now…"

Ron pulled the necklace out of his hands and off the towel, and the thermos came with it. He admired the object for a moment before starting to untie it from the thermos. "Hold on! I wanna try it on, first!"

"What?!" Hermione and Harry said at once, drawing Fred and George's attention.

"You can't!" Hermione said, moving to snatch the Item out of Ron's grasp, glancing at the staircase fretfully. Ron merely stood, dropping the thermos onto Yuugi's coat. Harry grabbed the cup, towel and backpack, quickly moving towards Ron.

"C'mon," Harry said. "We've seen it. They had it stored away from a reason. Let's put it back how it was before something _bad_ happens!"

Ron scoffed and turned around, holding the Item with two hands. "They were hiding it with a _towel_ and had it tied to a cup. How dangerous could it be?"

And then the Item released a blast light.

"_ARRGH! OW!_"

Ron's pained yelps made Harry move before he could see clearly, and he ended up stumbling into the redhead, sending them both to the floor. Ron's whimpers reached Harry's ears soon after, and then Harry's vision returned. Ron was lying on his back, cradling his hands to his chest, hissing in pain.

Harry rolled off of him while Hermione dropped beside him, prying is hands from his chest to look at them. They were red and blistered, like something had burned him. Ron was whimpering, clenching his teeth. George and Fred had bolted over, dropping to either side of Ron. George looked at Fred.

"Go get the remaining bit of Murtlap Essence," he said, and Fred took off towards the dorms. Ron blinked bad tears, staring at his burned hands.

Harry, meanwhile, was frantically searching the area. "Oh God," Harry whispered, digging through Yuugi's pile of stuff in the middle of the common room floor, "oh Merlin, oh God." He held up the backpack and towel, face grey. "It's gone," Harry said numbly. Hermione's mouth dropped open, brown eyes widening. Ron threw his head back.

"_You bastards_!"

Harry dropped the things his hands, spinning around just in time for Marik to grab his shirt collar and hoist him into the air, snarling. "_You FUCKING BASTARDS_!" Marik then swung him around and slammed Harry against the nearby wall, oblivious to Hermione's scream. Harry's head throbbed. "You _couldn_'_t_ leave it alone, could you!" Marik snapped, slamming Harry again into the wall. His vision spun- his glasses had fallen off. "DO YOU HAVE _ANY IDEA_-! Do you have _any self control at all_? Of _course not_!" Marik was laughing a bit hysterically now, and Harry saw someone grab the Egyptian to pull him off Harry. However, Marik was too strong and merely shook them off. "No, _no_! Harry _GOD-DAMN POTTER_ is the center of the universe! Ra-help us all if _Harry Potter_ doesn't know something!" Marik slammed Harry again. "You _pig_!" Another slam. "You _bastard_!" And again. "You _naïve, egotistical, arrogant MOTHERFUCKER_!"

After the last slam, Marik was wrenched away and Harry slid to the floor, feeling disoriented and dizzy. He heard someone sobbing and felt someone slide his glasses on his face. Fred was looking at him a bit worriedly, but Harry only knew the sharp cold of panic in his gut. He leaned around to see Marik clenching his bangs and pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. Yuugi was clutching onto him, shaking him slightly, and spoke in low, urgent tones.

"We have to go, Marik," Yuugi said. "If the Ring did get to Ryou…"

Marik looked up, tearing his hands away from his red, leaking eyes. "Oh Ra," he said, horror spreading across his bloodless face. "Oh Ra, _Kaiba_!"

Mokuba rushed into Harry's sight, grabbing onto Marik's cloak. "What's going on?! What's wrong with Seto?!"

Marik wiped is eyes and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing," he said, voice slightly hoarse. "Stay here."

"What?" Mokuba said. "No! I can't just _stay here_! Something's wrong!" He spun around and grabbed Yuugi's cloak. "Yami, please!"

"Yami?" Harry mumbled wearily. Yuugi ignored him.

"Stay, Mokuba," Yuugi said, planting a firm hand on his head. "Kaiba would kill us all if something happened to you."

"But-"

"_Mokuba_!" Yuugi snapped, eyes flashing. Mokuba took a step back, paling. Yuugi closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No more." He turned to Marik, grabbing his shoulder and pulling. "Come," he urged, "we must go."

Marik nodded, grabbing his wand and throwing off the black school cloak he was wearing. He jammed the bit of wood into the back pocket of his pants. "Right." The two glanced back at the group of stunned-still Gryffindors. Marik's violet eyes were narrowed, pupils nearly nonexistent in his rage. "Don't," he began in a slow, harsh voice, "bother following. I want to kill you _myself_."

And then the two of them were gone, sprinting out of the common room as fast as they had arrived. Harry slowly pushed himself to his feet, face pale. "What," he began, looking around the room at the stunned faces there, "did we do?"

--

Marik led them down the Gryffindor Tower, as he knew where all the shortcuts were and which steps on the stairs were dangerous. Yami once again cursed himself- how could he have been so stupid, so _careless_, to forget that the Millennium Ring was on his back?!

/_Yami_,/ Yuugi's voice trickled into his mind, /_it isn't your fault. We were in a rush, we wanted to help Ryou_…/

Yami shook his head, following Marik when the teen merely leapt over the side of the stairs, and they both landed safely on the next set below. /_We should have been faster, then. We shouldn't have let those other Gryffindors impede us_./

/_What were you to do_?!/ Yuugi asked, angry. /_Send them to the Shadow Realm_? _You'd be no better than Bakura then_./

Yami said nothing, because there was nothing to say. Yuugi was right- there was no way for Marik and Yami to quickly get out of his dorm room, not when there were several angered Gryffindors demanding retribution for their loss. Marik had tried to talk them down and Yami tried logic, but nothing seemed to work. It was only when Fred had accidentally threw open their door instead of his own, letting them know what had happened, that Yami and Marik had been able to break free.

As Marik led them through the third floor corridor, something ahead of them caught their eyes. It was large, and black with a bit of white around chest level. Marik gasped, nearly stumbling over his feet.

"Oh Ra, no," he cried, and Yami squinted. He felt his blood run cold.

It was Kaiba, charging across the corridor, carrying a limp Ryou in his arms. Behind him was Professor Snape, flanked by Malfoy and Zabini. Kaiba looked right at them, but said nothing. Instead he halted in the middle of the hallway and kicked open the door to the Hospital Wing. He rushed inside a moment later, cloak whipping out behind him.

"Mister Kaiba?!" came Madam Pomfrey's shrill and startled voice. She suddenly gasped. "Oh, Merlin… on the bed, boy. _Lay him on the bed_!"

Marik and Yami slipped into the room swiftly, followed by Snape and the two Slytherins. Madam Pomfrey was blocking them from seeing Ryou's upper body, but his legs were limp at the end of the bed. Kaiba stepped back from it, blue eyes harsh and accusatory.

"What the hell happened?!" he asked, raising his hands into the air. Yami's eyes stared hard at his fingers. There was blood on them.

Marik broke into fresh sobs, leaning heavily against the wall and burying his head into his hands. "It was that _bastard_ Potter!" he wailed, sliding down. "He and his _Ra-forsaken_ friends! Couldn't stop themselves, couldn't do it, we _told them, told them, told them_!" He tugged on his bangs harshly, unable to say anymore.

Snape was openly staring at the youth. Finally, composing himself, he looked over at Yami, who was standing still as death, eyes closed. "Will someone _explain_ what has occurred?"

Yami looked up, red-and-violet eyes narrowed slightly. "I…" he said, blinking. "We're… we…" His eyes shut and he put a hand to his forehead, as if his neck could not support the weight alone. "I'm so sorry," he finally whispered. He looked at Snape once more. "We've brought a monster into your school, and we never even told you."

Snape's eyes darted to Ryou's unconscious form. Madam Pomfrey had moved to the other side of the bed, having cut Ryou's shirt off. Snape's eyes widened in shock, Malfoy gasped sharply, and Zabini gaped. There, attached to Ryou's chest like a blood-sucking parasite, was the Millennium Ring. Blood trickled down from where the five spikes had embedded into his skin.

Snape turned to Yami. "What is this?" he asked sharply. Yami smiled darkly back at him.

"The Millennium Ring," Yami said, and looked back at the pale-faced teen before them. He walked around the side of the bed, watching the limp form.

And Ryou's eyes opened.

--

**AUTHOR NOTES**: Cliffhanger? Yes, I _am_ that evil. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks for waiting on me, guys. :D College is coming to a close really soon, so I don't have much free time on my hands right now. Plus, there was that whole flood-thing (I live in North Dakota). I hope the chapter made up for it, though.

Don't forget to come and check out _The Hogwarts Library_ Forum!

**CHAPTER TITLE**: ZEUGOS – _A pair_

_**NEXT TIME:**__ The Ring has returned to Ryou, and it's only a matter of time before the Spirit follows. The Item Barers must finally give up their secrets. Will the Neo-Wizards and Shadow Mages trust each other ever again?_


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